Free Web NovelChapter 217: Hubert Levins
Commander Levins was an old veteran, as was evident from his aged appearance despite being a Spirit Initiate with more than 300 years of life expectancy.
In fact, of all the soldiers who had come to Redwood Town, only General Balfour was older and more experienced than him; and even then, just barely. As such, he had seen more than his fair share of death on the battlefield, and he had ordered more brave women and men to their deaths than he cared to remember.
This time, however, was different.
This time, if he chose to take the more tactically sound path, he wouldn’t just be sacrificing soldiers, he would also be abandoning helpless civilians.
The very notion of running away like a coward was anathema to Hubert Levins way of life. He was a brave warrior of the Rockwell Kingdom, a Commander in the Raging River Legion, a defender of not just the Balfour Family, but also of its honour.
When the old veteran thought about what choice his most respected mentor would make if she were here, in his current position, a faint grin crept onto his wrinkled face.
.....
Though his head was aching, and his Soul had been somewhat injured, Lucas was still able to perform some basic analysis and make sound judgements about the situation they were in.
The flares from inside Redwood Town originated from at least 3 kilometres away, and he knew that the final yellow flare meant that whoever had sent them up had encountered difficulties. They weren’t in immediate danger, as the signal for that was a red flare, but even a slight delay now would quickly become fatal.
As for the Seventh Order Beast, since he was only feeling a bit of pressure from it right now, Lucas figured it was still some 8 to 10 kilometres away, so they were safe for the moment.
Unfortunately, the beast didn’t need to close that entire distance to become a threat. Even from 4 or 5 kilometres away, back in that tropical wilderness, this giant turtle had managed to immobilize both him and Christina.
Lucas had no idea how fast the turtle could move on land through the Great Western Forest, but as a Seventh Order Beast, it couldn’t possibly be slow.
All of this meant only one thing; at worst, they had just 5 or 6 minutes to evacuate before the beast got close enough to become a lethal threat to everyone here with the exception of one person.
Understanding this, Lucas turned to meet eyes with that one person, only to find that the old man he had become friends with over the past 8 days was also staring back at him.
No words were spoken at first as the world went silent around the two men, one approaching his twilight hours, the other barely beginning his life’s journey.
This silence, however, didn’t last long, with old man Hubert flashing his usual friendly smile as he asked, "Do you want to save them?"
Pursing his lips, Lucas nodded, "I do, but... I can’t."
Staring into the 10-year-old boy’s bloodshot eyes, Hubert reached out and patted his head, "If that’s what you want, then let this old man go take care of it for you."
"But..." Guilt and hesitance filled Lucas’ heart when he heard this. He knew exactly that Hubert Levins was saying, and what the words he spoke just now would mean, but even then, he couldn’t bring himself to stop him.
By now, Lucas was certain his father had been taken by the Spatial Storm as Drake had been together with most of the remaining evacuees in the part of the Town Lord’s Manor that had disappeared, but there was still a chance that his mother and his uncle were among the last remaining group of survivors heading here from the western part of town.
This wasn’t just wishful thinking on Lucas’ part, either.
From what he could tell, both the Town Square and the Town Lord’s Manor had been swept away in the storm, scooping up over 80% of all the people remaining in Redwood Town in the process, but he also knew that Anna and Charles were both standing guard at the western defence perimeter.
The fact that the last remaining group of survivors was coming from exactly that direction gave the boy hope.
Even if his mother and Eris’ father weren’t among this final group, there could still be others he knew.
Members of the Town Guard.
Staff from the Manor.
Friends, family, neighbours...
The thought of abandoning them while there was still a chance they could be saved was not a choice Lucas could bring himself to make.
Since the beginning of the crisis 8 days ago, or perhaps 9 days ago now that midnight had passed, Lucas had known that at least a few sacrifices would need to be made in order to save the majority and indeed, a number of people he knew had already been killed in the defence of the town.
He might not have been particularly close to anyone who had fallen already, but their deaths still weighed heavily on the young boy.
Having already experienced this kind of loss, and with knowledge of all the great tragedies from his inherited memories, Lucas thought he would be prepared for when this moment arrived, but now that it had, he found himself woefully lacking. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Just as Lucas was beginning to spiral into self-doubt, he felt the rough hand on his head, which had been very gentle so far, suddenly tussle it quite hard, drawing him back into the outside world.
"Stop thinking about it so much," old man Levins snickered, "You’re just 10 years old, a mere baby compared to this old fart. This isn’t all on you."
Meeting eyes again with the friendly grandpa he had barely had time to get to know, Lucas saw no trace of blame, nor any kind of reluctance. Hubert Levins knew what he was doing, and he had no doubts or regrets.
In that instant, Lucas felt that any more hesitation on his part would be an insult to the man before him, so he grit his teeth and nodded, "Please save them... save all of us, Commander Levins."
Gripping his spear tightly, the old man flashed a toothy grin and let out a hearty laugh, "Good lad. A real man must be decisive! He must fight to forge his own fate!"
"Besides, who says I’m destined to die here today?" Hubert Levins declared heroically, a fierce light flashing across his eyes, "I may be getting old, but I’m not about to surrender my life to some beast just yet!"
With that said, the old Commander turned around and walked off, heading in the direction of the temporary stables.
Of course, the words he had just spoken were mere bravado.
A High-Rank Spirit Initiate fighting a Mid-Rank Seventh Order Beast was suicide, and both Hubert and Lucas knew it.
This was going to be Commander Levin’s final battle.
"Do you..." Lucas called out, unable to stop himself in the end, "Do you have any words you want me to convey?"
Pausing in place, Hubert Levins lifted his head slightly to stare up into the night sky. The clouds which had blanketed the area had begun to disperse, possibly because of the giant Spatial Storm, and stars were starting to shine through, providing the faintest trace of light.
Thinking for a moment, many scenes from his life flashed before the old man’s eyes.
The day he left home to join the army, being accepted into the Raging River Legion, meeting the General for the first time, fighting his way up the ranks to eventually become a Regiment Commander, meeting his wives, the birth of his children and grandchildren...
In the end, when he looked back on what had been, Hubert came to one simple conclusion, I’ve lived a good, long life.
Hubert Levins knew he was getting slower in recent years; that his strength was starting to decline. He might still be able to fight on for another couple of decades, and live a few more after that, but after a lifetime of battle and adventure, going out in a blaze of glory instead of slowly wasting away in his bed didn’t sound bad either.
It seems these old bones can still be useful, one last time, Hubert smiled contentedly as he finally replied, "Tell the General, it was my life’s honour severing her. And tell my family... tell them I love them very much, and I’m sorry I was still so stubborn in my old age."
Kicking off the ground, Commander Levins raced off, not giving any time for Lucas to reply.
Seeing the broad back of the old man disappearing into the camp, Lucas forced himself to stand up and bowed deeply, shouting with all the might he could muster, "Thank you, Commander Levins! I won’t squander this chance you’re giving us!"
Eris also got to her feet and bowed deeply.
She might not have understood what was happening at first, but by the end, she knew.
With tears in her eyes, Eris bit her lip so hard that it began to bleed, but she kept silent and didn’t say a word. Whether that was because she wanted to respect Grandpa Hubert’s last wishes, or because she didn’t know what to say, not even Eris really knew.
