Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger - Chapter 349

Chapter 349: EX 349. Assignments
The room was silent for a long while after Leon finished speaking.

The weight of his words still hung over them like a thick fog, truths that twisted everything they thought they knew.

Pandora being tied to their own world… demons born from corruption… their captain wielding a second talent that defied common sense.

It was a lot to take in.

Adrian leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, a rare trace of unease showing through his usual composure.

Eden’s brows were furrowed, his mind clearly racing to process everything.

Even Elizabeth, who had seen the most of Leon’s impossible nature, looked unsettled, her amber eyes dim with thought.

Blessing hovered quietly beside Eden, her wings barely fluttering.

Leon studied them all, his gaze steady.

He could read the doubt in their eyes, the exhaustion that came from fighting enemies they barely understood.

He understood it too, how small they must feel now that the truth stretched far beyond anything human.

But then he smiled.

“Don’t worry,” he said simply. “As long as I’m here, everything’s going to be okay.”

The confidence in his voice wasn’t arrogance, it was conviction.

The kind that couldn’t be faked.

That single line drew mixed reactions: Elizabeth’s lips curved into a faint, proud smile; Eden exhaled slowly, the tension in his shoulders easing; and Adrian—after a moment of silence—let out a low chuckle.

“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Adrian said, shaking his head. His tone was half amused, half sincere.

Leon’s grin widened slightly. Eden and Elizabeth nodded in quiet agreement, their earlier unease dissolving under the same truth they’d learned long ago, when Leon was with them, failure wasn’t on the table.

The only outcome was victory.

Leon straightened, the air in the room shifting as his expression hardened with purpose.

“Good,” he said.

“Because we don’t have much time before the Campaign on Hallow begins.”

The moment he mentioned it, all attention locked on him again.

“Here’s what we’re going to do,”

****

Leon leaned back in his chair, arms folding across his chest as his calm voice broke the silence. “The campaign,” he began, “will be the major catalyst we need to accomplish the true trial.”

His words immediately pulled his squad’s attention.

Leon continued, his tone even but carrying weight.

“The Hallow isn’t just another battlefront. It’s the first cluster that ever appeared in Pandora—and because of that, it’s had emough to build up corruption. Enough to drown an entire continent.” He paused, eyes narrowing slightly. “As long as the Hallow exists, equilibrium is impossible. Destroying it will make everything easier… the balance, the understanding, the coexistence we’re meant to achieve.”

Adrian, Elizabeth, and Eden nodded, finally understanding why their captain’s tone carried that subtle edge of urgency.

Leon’s gaze shifted to Adrian first.

“You’ll continue your training with the lieutenant,” he said. “I can tell from your aura—you’ve already started learning from him.”

Adrian blinked, a little surprised Leon noticed, but he didn’t argue.

“You have until the campaign begins,” Leon went on. “Learn everything you can. Because once it starts…” His expression darkened slightly. “There might not be another chance.”

He didn’t elaborate, but Adrian didn’t ask. He only nodded firmly, his voice steady.

“No problem, captain.”

Leon nodded once in return, then turned his eyes toward Eden and Blessing.

“As for you two—you’ll be going after the newly formed clusters.”

Eden opened his mouth, but Leon raised a hand, cutting him off before he could speak.

“You won’t be going alone,” Leon added. “I’ll request the emperor to assign guards to your squad. Their job will be to immobilize the corrupted creatures while you finish them and absorb their corruption.”

Eden and Blessing exchanged a quick glance, the meaning clicking almost immediately. Blessing’s wings flickered faintly as realization spread across her small face. Eden couldn’t help thinking, ‘Isn’t this… basically getting carried?’ But he didn’t complain.

“We’ll do our best, captain,” he said, bowing his head respectfully.

Leon smiled faintly.

“I’m sure you will.”

He turned back toward the center of the table, his tone softening.

“That will be all.”

Before he could stand, Elizabeth’s voice broke through the brief quiet.

“What about me?”

Both Adrian and Eden turned toward her, curious.

Leon didn’t answer immediately.

He looked at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, finally, he said with a small smirk,

“You’ll be watching a tournament with me.”

Elizabeth blinked. “A… tournament?”

Leon leaned forward, his smile widening just slightly.

“Yeah. Trust me, you’ll understand soon enough.”

The others exchanged puzzled looks, but no one pressed further.

****

After the first official squad meeting of Unit One in Pandora, none of them lingered. The orders had been clear, and every member moved with purpose.

Adrian returned immediately to his mentor—Lancelot, the stoic lieutenant of the imperial guard—to continue mastering the Exalted Black Star Art.

It was a brutal technique, one that pushed the body and mind past their mortal limits. Yet Adrian didn’t hesitate. If Leon said there might not be another chance after the campaign, then every hour mattered.

Eden’s path was different.

After the meeting, Leon paid a brief visit to Emperor Alexander himself. The discussion was short, but the emperor didn’t delay; within the cycle, the strongest members of the imperial guard were assigned to accompany Eden and Blessing.

Their mission, to hunt down newborn clusters and extract their corruption under controlled conditions.

The audience with the emperor could have ended there, but Alexander had one more concern. He leaned back on his throne, studying Leon carefully before saying,

“And what of Dragon Mountain? Its management still falls under no command.”

Leon tilted his head, unimpressed.

“I’m sure you three will find a solution.”

The emperor blinked.

“You’re—” He stopped, visibly struggling to process the words. “You’re leaving it to us?!”

Leon only shrugged, already turning to leave. “You’ll do fine, after all you have experience.”

Alexander sat frozen, his mouth slightly open as Leon walked out of the throne room.

Moments later, in the quiet corridor outside the audience chamber, Leon found Elizabeth waiting. She stood by the tall crystal windows, her black dress catching the soft light that filtered through.

When Leon stopped beside her, he extended his hand toward her with a faint smile.

“Time to go,” he said simply.

Elizabeth didn’t hesitate, as shereached out and took his hand.

The moment their fingers met, the air around them twisted. A quiet hum rippled through the marble floor, and in the next heartbeat, the corridor was empty, no trace of them left behind.

Their destination: the distant archipelagos of Beast Island.