Chapter 74. You have made me Proud.

Hugo's running speed is the fastest among them thanks to this he quickly managed to reach the point of explosion in just 3 minutes.

But even so, this kind of distance is already far from their city and only by jumping very high in the sky could allow you to see the small silhouette of Florentine city from above the ground.

Upon reaching the point of explosion Hugo was immediately greeted by a huge and deep crater that is still smoking from heat.

He doesn't even see any trees or grass around the crater since everything has been incinerated by the high heat of the resulting explosion.

Only by backtracking several hundred meters can allow you to see the remnants of the thick forestry in this place. Even with the fast regeneration ability of nature, it might take an entire year before everything recovered to its former look.

But the deep crater caused by that explosion would forever remain in this place as it created a deep scar on this forest.

With a depth of several dozen meters on the deepest point and a width of hundred meters, it would not be a surprise if a new lake would be born in this area.

But this is not the most important thing right now, for Hugo the reason he gets here in a rush is because of Hubert.

He is hoping that he can still find his friend alive in this place because he believes that Hubert has a way to save himself from this madness.

"FRANCIS!"

"FRANCIS WHERE ARE YOU?" Hugo shouted at the top of his lungs as he keeps on running around the crater looking for Hubert.

With the intensity of damaged and residual heat from the crater, any normal beings below the supreme rank would definitely die within this explosion range.

The only way for a person to survive in this instance is if he carries a magic treasure within his body. Thankfully, Hugo remembers that Hubert has picked up a legendary treasure from the church of Agatha.

The Shield of obedience because of its powerful defense can definitely withstand this explosion as long as it has enough energy to maintain its form.

With its unique ability to shrink in size and hide from plain sight, Hugo is determined that Hubert must have worn this shield as a pin on his clothes.

In that way, Hubert's chance of surviving this explosion would be guaranteed. But if he's not wearing that pin then Hugo doesn't wanna think anymore.

While looking for Hubert, Hugo stumbled upon some small craters that is distinct from the others.

The number of small crater-like holes on the ground is far too many to be caused by one powerful explosion. And it was spread around everywhere creating a huge mess in the forest.

Currently, no huge trees can be seen standing within the periphery several hundred meters of the explosion ground which makes it easier for everyone to see the actual devastation of the place.

Everything was razed into the ground and even the top soil layer around the crater was scorched into coal releasing a huge amount of steam and heat.

This is the sight, of what Lucas and the others have seen upon reaching the place.

An actual description of hell on earth.

The huge crater still has some molten magma inside of it adding a gruesome heat to the place.

Now it's not just Hugo who is looking for Hubert as Lucas and the other knights in the city have finally arrived to search and rescue their Lord.

Everyone is hoping that they would see him alive in this place but as time passes by their hope is starting to turn cold.

Due to the intensity of the heat coming out from the crater no normal human could come close to this place, that's why only knights covered in their aura can participate in this search and rescue mission.

But since the danger is still present some knights are forced to stay and wait in the city while they clean out every remaining monster inside the city, waiting for the news of their return.

Lucas also got the news that Sir Daniel have already regained consciousness and captain Jack has finally made a breakthrough granting him the position of an official knight.

This news is supposed to uplift his mood but due to his current situation, he can't really celebrate or enjoy it at all.

His father is still missing they still haven't found a clue about him after searching for 10 mins.

They have already flipped and turned over everything in the surrounding area but they've only seen a few sword marks proving that a great battle has happened here once.

As more time passes by Lucas is starting to feel the cold creeping up to his heart, a sensation that is unfamiliar to him.

Even on Earth, he has never felt this feeling before, or rather he has already forgotten this feeling.

Only now that he was again reminded of this dreadful sensation filling his heart.

Hubert might not be his real father in a sense of his soul but in this world, he is the only father he has. Besides he is no longer different from the original Lucas of this world as he already gained all of his memories.

He might just be a stranger that transmigrated into this world at first, but now that he has adapted to his new life, no one can no longer deny him of his real emotion toward the people around him.

Unknown to Lucas he has already accepted everyone close to him as his new family and friends. So the dreadful sensation covering his heart is already a valid cause.

If earlier everyone is still filled with a strong belief for Hubert's survival, now everyone is starting to feel the dread invading their hearts as negative thoughts constantly pop up in their head.

With each passing time, without any news of his presence, some of them are even beginning to accept the idea that he has already perished in this place.

Protecting the place he loves.

But none of them have decided to say anything for the moment out of respect for their young master. But Hugo is still not giving up as he decided to search for a further location far away from this place.

This is also the same thing for Lucas and Michael as they both went deeper inside the surviving forestry, adamant to search for a live Hubert who is waiting for them to arrive.

Even the other knights searching around the crater have joined them for a wider search area with a small glimmer of hope remaining in their chests.

This time it took them another 10 mins before a loud voice boomed on their surroundings announcing the discovery of Hubert.

"I FOUND HIM! I FOUND HUBERT. HE IS STILL ALIVE." Hugo shouted in glee as he announce his discovery to everyone.

Which is clearly heard by all of them.

That voice prompted Lucas and Michael to run at their fastest speed towards him with faces full of vigor and hope as their hearts are finally freed from worry.

This also makes the other knights that are searching for him breathe a sigh of relief as all of them are glad to hear this good news.

This sudden news also prompted them to rush in Hugo's direction, ignoring everything in their surroundings.

As they're all worried to know about Hubert's current condition as he wasn't just their lord but also their friend.

They've all witnessed everyone's journey throughout the years, and for each one of them, it was filled with different kinds of emotions.

Some are lucky some are very unlucky.

Hubert can be described as the latter, as they all witnessed his journey filled with thorns.

Unlike them who have it much easier than him.

They might not have the perfect life as other knights outside of the territory but they are fairly satisfied with their life.

Only Hubert suffered the most among them as he was burdened by his duty to protect everyone under his mantle.

Since he is the guardian of a territory, the leader of the people, a father of a child inflicted with a terminal illness, and lastly a grieving man.

Hubert's life is full of ups and downs and he faced it all head-on with a strong determination to move forward.

For them, Hubert is not just their leader nor their pillar but also their dearest companion.

His existence is vital for everyone to survive in this place as he was the only that can unite the heart of the people.

All of them are wishing to see him alive and well and this wish was finally granted.

Although it took them some time to find him among the surrounding ruins Hugo's voice immediately filled them with glee.

With excited expression on their face, all of them dashes forward to meet him.

And finally, after a day of challenging battle all of them would go home completely without anyone missing.

And that's when they all saw him walking while being supported by Hugo.

"Lord Hubert, my friend I'm glad you're alive." Mark said with a shaking voice almost on the brink of his tears.

"Father...." Lucas uttered in a broken voice upon meeting him face to face.

"Father it's you...hik..." said by Lucas as he tried to stop his cry from coming out but ultimately failed.

"I'm glad to see you.... alive and well." But at last, Lucas was finally able to say it after stopping for a while.

But tear marks can still be seen on his face. A proof that Lucas has unconsciously accepted this man as his own father.

A connection that transcends the blood and soul ties.

Because for Lucas crying is an unfamiliar emotion to him even when he is still on earth as he only showed this emotion to selected people a handful of times.

So When Hubert saw the unfamiliar emotion on his son's face his mind immediately cleared up.

The manic thoughts that are clouding his mind were instantly restored to their calm.

Because unknown to them, Hubert is still affected by the side effects of mania as he uses too much of his power in his previous battle.

This is the repercussion of forcefully upgrading his power when he was young. It is the forbidden technique performed by Hubert's Father as it allows him to skip several ranks ahead, giving him the current strength he has today.

As a result of this if Hubert used too much of his strength it could cause him to fall into mania.

He even needs to clench his teeth just to stop his arm from punching Hugo as his body is still seeking the thrill and excitement from his previous fight.

Usually, this kind of strong negative emotion would take some time to calm down.

That's why Hubert chooses to distance himself for a while to give himself some time to adjust to the raging emotion in his head.

But even so, when Hugo found him under a tree while he was taking a rest Hubert doesn't have a choice but to come with him. While strongly resisting the strong desire of his mind to fight.

But when he finally saw the sight of his son Lucas who is tearfully waiting for his arrival, A magical thing suddenly happen.

Hubert just felt like someone had put a block of ice on his head.

That immediately made him calm down faster than before.

When Hubert actually saw the unfamiliar emotion on his son's face, he was secretly static.

Because for Hubert, Lucas, his own son is more distant to him that the soldiers he leads. He even thought that Lucas doesn't care about him at all. It only change when Lucas was afflicted by his illness several months ago.

Since it was the time that his son started to open himself to him but now Hubert can finally rest his troubled heart.

Because he now knows that Lucas still cares about him dearly.

As a result of realizing the truth, Hubert only felt like a huge wave of cool sensation covered his body as a very warm and comfortable feeling rise up from his chest.

This is the reason why he was able to quickly recover his mind from his mania.

Hubert finally finds an answer to his problem of how to solve the negative effects of using too much of his power.

He finally figured out its secret. 

He realized that he just need to fight it with a stronger emotion than dread. 

Emotions that can make him happy.

And one of that emotions is seeing his son's concern for him. As he finally felt the warmth and love of his own family.

"Thank you....... son. You did great today." Hubert said happily even though he was covered in injuries.

"You have made me proud." These are the words he managed to say to Lucas before he was overwhelmed by the warm greetings of other knights.