Chapter 292: Chapter 283: The Last Hero of the Hoplites

Standing before the raging sea, the hoplite meditated. Eyes closed, he was synchronizing his heart with the waves reaching the shore. A mass of water crashed violently onto the sand. He could feel the tremors deep in his lungs and the foam kissing his feet. The ocean was both harsh and gentle.

Opening his eyes, he watched the pattern unfold before him. Every seven seconds, a new wave rose, and before it slammed down, it was easy to dive beneath it—Priam had even mentioned the possibility of surfing it. The lesson Kazuki took from this was that water welcomed those who respected it but crushed fools who dared challenge its power.

A gust swept through, carrying the ocean salty spray with it. The jealous wind rose, eager to remind everyone that for all its power, water couldn’t touch it. Kazuki smiled. He didn’t share Priam’s deep love for the sea, but he acknowledged its grandeur.

“Sorry for the delay,” came a voice from behind.

Kazuki turned, surprised. Apart from Jasmine, few could get this close to him without his Concept alerting him. Yet the wind remained silent, as if confused by a rival it couldn’t understand.

He has grown stronger. Priam’s fiery hair had changed color, but the shift went deeper. Kazuki’s Domain struggled to scan his friend, and the titan inside him was behaving strangely. Moreover, none of it seemed related to the Achievement he had heard an hour ago.

Hyshana thought Priam embodied adaptation, but Kazuki wasn’t so sure. Adaptation was reactive, while his friend was a force of action. Like a juggernaut, Priam was forging his own path.

That suited Kazuki just fine. With a rival like Priam, he would never grow complacent.

“No worries,” Kazuki replied, pushing aside the stray thoughts. He was here to face his Tribulations—everything else could wait.

“How are you feeling?”

Priam’s eyes were so intense that the question felt anything but casual. Kazuki looked inward, then smiled.

“Impatient to get it over with.”

“You’ll win,” his friend encouraged, giving a thumbs-up—a human custom.

“Of course.”

“The History of the Hoplites is written in blood and sweat…”

The mythical lion, Taishi, and the ghostly tribunes were the same as those shown in Priam’s memories. Kazuki’s last doubts faded.

A roar drew his attention. The feline was enraged, furious that Kazuki had spared it only a glance. One look was enough to know no blade could pierce or slash that golden fur. In the erased timeline, the Champion, blinded by pride, had struck the beast until its organs burst. He had won, but at a high cost—a Pyrrhic victory.

Kazuki had no intention of repeating his mistakes. If his pride and his people's expectations were too heavy a burden, then he would cast them aside. Nothing was more important than the survival of his civilization.

When the lion lunged, Kazuki ignored the desires of his people. He called upon the Name of the Wind, manipulating the air in a wide area. Deprived of oxygen, the Tribulation began to panic.

It took less than a minute for the beast to lose consciousness. One quick thrust to its right ear later, its body collapsed onto the sandy shore. Several kilometers from the Valaryth outpost, the area was perfect for a battle without endangering his friends.

“The Name of the Wind?”

“It’s the Concept I mastered after ending the Greys,” Kazuki announced to the hoplite floating in the air. His elevated position likely gave him an air of dominance in the eyes of the spectators. The father of the hoplites wasn’t above theatrics. ṞÄꞐ𝙤ΒËş

“An accomplishment worthy of a hoplite hero. I am Taishi.”

“My name is Kazuki.”

Taishi waited for a moment before raising an eyebrow.

“No title?”

“You don’t have one,” the Champion pointed out.

“Titles are meant to bind a hero to their myth in the minds of the people. I have no need for that as no one forgets the first.”

There was definitely a salacious joke to be made, but that wasn’t Kazuki’s style. Instead, he focused on the implication: no one could forget the deeds of the greatest hero.

“Your legend is the foundation of our civilization,” Kazuki acknowledged. “But if the first hero doesn’t need a title, neither does the last.”

“It’s easier to be the first than the last.”

“The heaviest burden always falls to the strongest. I shall carry it.”

If Priam had been in his place, he would probably have conjured a river of plasma or a sea of mist to impress the crowd. Kazuki didn’t have flashy tricks like that, but he relied on his sincerity, charisma, and sheer strength to win over his people.

A flicker crossed Taishi’s eyes. “Bold words. Arrogance isn’t a virtue.”

As gray slates rose among the spectators, voting for Taishi to reclaim his title as Champion of the hoplites, Kazuki didn’t flinch. His ancestor was trying to undermine his image with words, but in the end, their people would follow the strongest.

“Arrogance is a flaw, but so is false modesty. I’m not ashamed of being the strongest.”

“Shame doesn’t seem to have much hold on you.” Taishi sighed. “I should have expected this from someone who wields the Name of the Wind, the weapon of those cowardly Greys.”

In the erased timeline, the father of the hoplites had preached the opposite. A shadow passed through Kazuki’s eyes.

“A hoplite I respected once said, ‘A hoplite always pays his debts… but only a slave pays them twice.’ I cleansed the Name’s honor by killing the Greys.”

“You think quoting me will work in your favor?” Taishi’s voice simmered with anger.

Kazuki gestured to the tribunes. “I’m not here to win a debate. I’m here to show our people that their founder shifts between sword and spear whenever it suits him.” The Champion’s eyes narrowed. “You were born a warrior, but perhaps you died a politician.”

Coming from him, it was almost an insult.

A legendary spear appeared in Taishi’s hand, his features twisted with rage.

“Questioning my teachings is rebellion against the hoplite legacy.”

“I believe in the message, not the messenger.” A spear, the twin of the Tribulation, flashed into Kazuki’s hand. “Let our duel settle our differences.”

Kazuki had learned to walk at six months old, and by his first birthday, his father had put a staff in his hands. He killed for the first time at eight, when a burglar had tried to assault his mother. One strike to disarm the hoplite, another to knock him down, and a final blow to freeze his terrified expression forever.

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His father had tried to teach him the value of life and forgiveness, but Kazuki had never been convinced. He saw the terror in his mother’s eyes and knew he never wanted that for himself.

Forced to flee at twelve for questioning the pacifist teachings of the Greys, Kazuki quickly embraced the hoplite code of honor. His interest grew into a passion, and he joined the army.A prodigy, Kazuki rose through the ranks, defeating enemies, commanding ever-larger forces, and excelling in public competitions. Born in the cowardice of the Greys, he had become the paragon of a martial civilization.

In his twenty-five-year career, Kazuki hadn’t lost a single one of the thousands of duels he fought. His unyielding nature might have caused trouble if he weren’t such an absolute genius.

That was why Hyshana’s family couldn’t oppose their marriage. After he’d killed a hundred suitors, the rest had accepted his humble origins.

Appointed Supreme General at forty-one, he had finally reached the pinnacle of the stratocracy, proving to all that their civilization rewarded merit.

No one doubted Kazuki was the greatest genius of his generation. But was he the greatest in hoplite history? That was the question on the minds of the billions watching, summoned by the Tribulation.

The first clash set the tone for the battle. Kazuki had analyzed his opponent's techniques through Priam’s memories. Exploiting even the smallest flaw in his adversary’s thrust, the spear virtuoso severed the overextended hand. The severe injury rattled the founder's defenders.

To his credit, Taishi didn’t let the shock bury him. He countered with a kick that was easily blocked. The ancestor grunted as a blade sliced his Achilles tendon. The fight lasted a few seconds longer before Taishi transformed into a beam of light, retreating to a safe distance.

He reappeared fifty meters away, pale as a ghost and drenched in sweat. His body was slashed in a dozen places, and without Micro, he would barely be able to stand.

“You are one with the spear,” Taishi admitted. He himself had taken half a step into Mastery II, with his Flash Concept complementing his spear skills. Yet none of his techniques could even graze his opponent.

Kazuki was undoubtedly the better spearmaster, and he had unraveled his foe’s fighting style. There was nothing more to say.

Seeing his opponent remain silent and the spectators beginning to doubt, Taishi summoned a thousand light projectiles. Dodging them all would have been tricky, so Kazuki didn’t bother. Every single projectile shattered against his Titan physique.

“You will need to try harder than that,” Kazuki taunted.

“Metallic skin? Are you even still a hoplite?”

A murmur rippled through the crowd. The hoplites wouldn’t follow an alien. Realizing how tough Kazuki was, Taishi shifted his attacks to question his legitimacy.

“I was born a hoplite, and I’ll die a hoplite,” Kazuki swore. “Can you say the same? Between running away and flinging insults, I’m starting to wonder where the honor of the father of our civilization has gone.”

An uproar erupted from the stands, and Taishi understood the people were backing Kazuki’s words.

Having cauterized his wounds, he summoned a massive spear of pure light to smite his enemy. The attack descended upon Kazuki like divine judgment, splitting the air and sea like a column of lightning. The atmosphere turned to plasma, and the world rumbled in protest.

When the light finally faded, Kazuki stood in the same spot. Spear raised toward the heavens, he looked glorious. Only the red-hot tip of his spear hinted at the titanic blow he had just deflected.

Before anyone could react, he hurled his legendary weapon. It swallowed the distance between them in an instant, burying itself in Taishi’s skull. In stunned silence, his body dissolved into a rain of luminous particles.

The arena trembled as the System polled the hoplites. Seven heartbeats later, Taishi reappeared in a flash. The Eighth Tribulation would always resurrect the hero chosen by the people. Until Kazuki claimed that title, his Tribulations would never end.

Three times, Kazuki defeated his opponent, and three times he was resurrected. Each time, the number of slates raised by the crowd shifted. From one in a hundred hoplites, Kazuki had now won over one in four. The myth of their founder was gradually eroded by the raw power of their last hero.

“Why don’t you just quit?” Kazuki asked as Taishi resurrected for the fourth time. “You cannot win.”

Taishi stared at him for a moment, then shook his head. “You are strong, no doubt, but strength alone doesn’t lead a people. You lack vision.”

The honesty in Taishi’s words caught Kazuki off guard. He hesitated as his opponent wasn’t wrong.

“Others will handle that,” Kazuki said, thinking of his wife and their eternal rival, Ishaka.

“You would leave them that power?”

“Of course. My duty is to protect my people, not rule them.”

Taishi nodded, his form shifting into pure light. “Then let’s compare my vision to your duty.”

The final duel began.

As fast as light, Taishi’s spear pierced Kazuki’s side. Even with his enhanced constitution, the spear punched through. There was little blood; most of it had evaporated, and the flesh was seared. Before Kazuki could counter, Taishi had already retrieved his weapon. The next few seconds were a blur of agony, wounds ripping across Kazuki’s body as he struggled to land a hit. Taishi was gambling everything, burning through his mental endurance to overclock his Flash Concept.

It was a draining strategy, but it played to his advantage; every resurrection replenished his resources. Moreover, from the audience’s shouts, it made for a spectacular show.

As the crowd began to waver again, Kazuki tapped into the Concept he had glimpsed through Priam’s memories. The Tribulations offered him the perfect moment to declare his intention to the world.

“I will protect them,” Kazuki vowed. It was his Duty.

A spear bit into his thigh, drawing Kazuki’s attention. Before it could be withdrawn, the hoplite’s new Concept bent reality, freezing the light itself. A firm hand gripped the spear, immobilizing its wielder as well.

Kazuki’s spear sliced through Taishi’s light form, eliciting a pained scream. Unity with a Tier 0 Concept did not protect against Spear Mastery II.

Abandoning his spear, Taishi staggered back. Returning to his hoplite form, he clutched his abdomen, trying to keep his intestines from spilling out.

Kazuki stepped forward, menacing. The father of the hoplites tried to retreat further, but an invisible chain anchored him in place. No one could escape their duty.

Reaching his adversary, Kazuki offered his spear. He would not allow the founder of his civilization to die without dignity.

Something shifted in Taishi’s eyes. He accepted the spear and assumed a fighting stance.

The end of the duel was magnificent. The two spear masters exchanged a thousand strikes, showcasing and refining their techniques, elevating their martial science to an art form. Swift thrusts, powerful slashes, and exquisite grapples were executed. Dancing a deadly waltz, the two warriors circled each other, the intensity of their attacks soaring until the final, inevitable crescendo.

Despite the beauty of the battle, there could only be one victor, and it was clear who that would be. Of the last thousand exchanges, Kazuki hadn’t lost a single one. The Champion’s talent was too vast to be contained by any spearmaster, however legendary.

When the sand turned red with Taishi’s blood, the ancestor adopted a well-known stance—the Tiger’s Bite. It was the first thrust taught to every soldier, the foundation of hoplite martial science.

Like a mirror, Kazuki mimicked him. The spectators held their breath.

“Ahhh!” the two heroes roared as they charged.

When the cloud of sand settled, two spears had pierced two hearts.

“Why?” Taishi asked, seeing that Kazuki had refused to dodge.

“I accept the hoplite past,” he breathed, his duty forbidding him to die despite the absence of his heart.

Taishi was the incarnation of that past. And Kazuki...

“…,” the father of the hoplites sighed, impressed by the devotion of the last hero of his civilization. “The past matters, but we must look to the future.”

The spectral stands began to dissolve along with Taishi. The hoplites had reelected their Champion, and the Tribulation healed him. He exhaled in relief as his heart regenerated. His instincts had assured him the hoplite Champion’s blessing would apply to him, but it had been a risk—one Hyshana would surely scold him for later.

Title won!

[Heartless - Bronze] - You have survived after losing your heart, one of the vital organs of your species. In the future, you will be able to stay alive for a while without this vital organ.

You are starting to be influenced by the unconscious behavior of a certain rival. That’s bad for your life expectancy.

VIT +10%

Next arc already complete on Patreon if you want to find out what happens next!

/ANovelConcept