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Chapter 93: Hero Bridge
Over the long passage of time, the Hero Bridge had suffered destruction on numerous occasions—whether from monster attacks, terrifying natural disasters, or wars between humans. Yet, every single time, someone would always step forward to rebuild the bridge and its statues at any cost. That was how it had survived to the present day.
These silent stone figures seemed to wordlessly whisper a single phrase to all passing travelers: 『Never lose our pride.』
Together with Lefiya and Ais, Aiden passed through the stone bridge towers and slowly stepped onto the Hero Bridge. Bathed in the afternoon sunlight of the festival, the faces of the heroes were starkly visible. Thirty-one statues stood at equal intervals along the railings on both sides of the bridge, silently watching over the city they had once protected.
Out of the thousands of years of Orario's history—an era overflowing with heroes—these were the thirty-one who had achieved the most glorious of Great Feats. The arrangement of the statues had nothing to do with the years of their birth or death; they were placed together at random.
Among them, Aiden quickly spotted the figure of the knight whose memorial shrine they had just visited earlier—Fulland. He also saw many other names he had only ever read about in heroic epics.
The descendant of the Wolf Emperor, Saruon. His statue radiated a savage, domineering aura, looking as though it might unleash a roar capable of terrifying entire armies at any second. The Amazon Empress, Evelda. She held a battleaxe, her gaze looking down upon the world, fully displaying the majesty and presence of a queen. The Undead Lord, Garzanev. His statue was cloaked in an air of mystery, appearing as though he had pierced the boundaries of life and death.
The Champion of the Spear, Sidu. He held a spear pointed straight at the heavens, practically overflowing with a fearless lust for battle. There was also the founder of the Elf Dynasty, Sphia, and the pure, flawless Royal Elf Saint, Celdia... Aiden noticed that many of the hero statues had smaller sculptures beside them. These were the varied, beautiful, and powerful Great Spirits, resting quietly against the heroes. Together, they formed the foundation of those magnificent ancient epics.
"We've arrived... at the Hero Bridge. How does it feel?" Lefiya clasped her hands behind her back and tilted her head slightly. A hint of anticipation gleamed in her blue eyes as she looked at Aiden beside her.
Aiden's gaze swept over the silent stone figures. He gently placed a hand over his heart, feeling as if he could sense the heavy, blazing passion bridging across thousands of years. He let out a heartfelt sigh. "It feels... like my blood is boiling, I suppose."
He wasn't lying. The moment he laid eyes on these hero statues, it felt as though he had pierced through the fog of time to witness that dark era with his own eyes—a time when monsters ran rampant and humanity struggled in despair. The heroes represented by these statues were the solitary, lofty figures who had saved the world from endless calamity, paying the price with their own flesh and lives.
Right now, the Hero Bridge was bustling with people. As the spiritual symbol of the Labyrinth City, the bridge's popularity during the festival was undoubtedly at the absolute peak of all Orario. Countless adventurers and citizens had come here to pay their respects to the glory of their predecessors and draw strength to move forward.
The three of them carefully squeezed through the lively crowd, making their way across the history-laden stone bridge. When they reached the exact center of the bridge, Ais suddenly stopped in her tracks. She stood quietly, tilting her head back to gaze at one of the hero statues in front of her.
It was a statue entirely distinct from the other heroes. He wielded a slender, sharp sword and wore a simple set of light armor. A long scarf fluttered in the wind around his neck, looking as though he was about to set off on a journey at any given moment. Beside him, there was no Great Spirit leaning against his side—only an empty, cold stone pedestal.
Aiden looked up. Staring at the chiseled face of the man—still sharp despite the weathering of wind and frost—who was repeatedly sung of as the "strongest" across endless heroic epics, he quietly murmured his name. "The great hero, Albert Waldstein..."
Hearing that name, Lefiya also turned a solemn gaze toward the statue. Albert was the undisputed strongest hero, featured in the Dungeon Oratoria, the epic poem recording the deeds of ancient heroes. He led a group known in ancient times as mercenaries and explorers—the predecessors of modern-day adventurers. In other words, the Mercenary King was the King of Adventurers.
In the epics, he had many names and titles—Albert Waldstein, the Champion of the Sword, and... Mercenary King Waldstein.
Aiden's gaze swept over the statue before falling onto Ais's expressionless profile beside him. The Great Feat of the grand hero Albert was synonymous with the end of the Ancient Times. His birth and death were inextricably linked to the subsequent dawn of the Age of Gods.
This was the imperishable legend engraved in the final chapter of the Dungeon Oratoria. His greatest achievement of all was driving away the 『Black Dragon』.
In that dark era, the pitch-black calamity birthed by the Dungeon brought ruin and destruction to everything upon the land. Thus, the great hero stepped forward alone to challenge that incarnation of despair. Ultimately, at the cost of his own life, he drove the beast to the edge of the world. It was said that the king of dragons—having lost an eye to the hero's blade and now known as the One-Eyed Dragon—let out a sorrowful roar capable of shaking the very world. It fled to the distant northern lands and had never been seen since.
A period of time after the Black Dragon's departure, the gods of Heaven finally descended to the lower world, ushering in the brand-new Age of Gods. In other words, it was the great hero who single-handedly ended the ancient era, bridging a new epoch with the fate of the lower world. Because of that, everyone unanimously agreed that he was undeniably the 『Strongest Hero』.
"The strongest hero, huh..." Aiden stared at the statue in front of Ais, the corners of his lips curving up into an almost imperceptible smile. He liked that title quite a lot. There were many heroes, but there would only ever be one "strongest" hero.
"Ais, do you care deeply about Lord Albert?" Lefiya asked softly, curiosity etched on her face as she looked at Ais, who was standing as rigidly still as a stone statue herself. She had always wanted to know more about Ais, but it seemed that only a select few people—like Loki and Captain Finn Deimne—knew anything about her past.
Ais let out an incredibly soft hum from her throat and offered a faint nod, her golden eyes never straying from that chiseled stone face.
Aiden looked at Ais as well, sighing inwardly. How could she not care? Her relationship with Albert is anything but ordinary. After all, that's her father. Naturally, Aiden wasn't going to say that out loud. It was a secret he couldn't reveal.
"Aiden, do you know why?" Seeing that Ais didn't intend to say anything else, Lefiya turned to Aiden, pointing to the spot opposite Albert's statue. "On this bridge, only Lord Albert lacks a statue across from him. It's completely empty, whereas all the other hero statues are paired up, facing one another."
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