Reincarnated as a failed hero?! Watch me Defy Fate!-Chapter 250: Mercenary King’s Aura

The doors to the training hall swung open.

A heavy, almost suffocating pressure filled the room as Mercenary King Yunho Draven and Mercenary Queen Mina Draven stepped inside, exuding a commanding presence that made the very air tighten.

Serena and Theresia instantly recognized them—after all, they had once faced the mercenary royalty on the battlefield.

They weren’t alone. Three of their elite guards—the same ones who had accompanied them to the alliance meeting—followed closely behind.

"What an interesting training session," Yunho said with a low chuckle. "Don’t you think so, My Queen?"

Mina’s lips curled slightly, her sharp gaze locking onto Serena. "Indeed, My King... I was particularly intrigued by the power displayed by that white-haired hero during the battle. I see now—it was her familiar’s magic. Kuhuhu... fascinating."

Her eyes narrowed.

Serena’s posture immediately stiffened. Theresia’s hand subtly moved toward her sword. The tension was undeniable.

I remembered what Serena had told me—during the previous war, they had gone all out against Yunho and Mina. Even though we were now allies, old wounds and wary hearts didn’t heal overnight.

I was just about to greet them when Serena suddenly spoke up, voice sharp and calm.

"I have a name. I am not ’the white-haired hero.’ I am Serena von Winterfell. I suggest you remember that, Mercenary Queen... Mina Draven."

The queen’s smile vanished. A visible flicker of annoyance crossed her face as the two powerful women locked eyes, their auras silently challenging one another. It felt like they could draw their weapons at any second.

I quickly stepped in, placing a hand gently on Serena’s shoulder.

"Easy, Serena. Let me handle this," I said with a soft smile. She met my gaze, gave a reluctant nod, and took a step back.

Yunho raised an eyebrow at the tension, then gave a hearty laugh. "Let’s not make things worse, my queen. We’re allies now. Time we started acting like it."

Mina huffed but backed down, her fingers easing away from the hilt of her weapon.

I stepped forward to meet them, and Yunho did the same. Now we stood face to face—two warriors, two leaders.

"It’s an honor to meet you again, Mercenary King Yunho-sama, Mercenary Queen Mina-sama," I said respectfully. "But I assume you didn’t come all this way just to watch our training?"

"You assume correctly, Naoki von Blackmore, Strongest Hero of the Braveheart Kingdom." Yunho’s voice was deep and clear, resonating with undeniable authority. "We’re here to uphold the agreement made during the alliance council. Mina and I will be training you."

The sudden spike of pressure from his aura sent a wave of unease through the room.

Even though we had known this was coming... seeing him like this in person was something else entirely. That oppressive force—it was crushing.

I swallowed my tension and replied calmly, "Of course. I remember you agreed to train us, and we’re grateful. We’re just... surprised you arrived without any notice. I thought you were still enjoying your tour around Braveheart."

That seemed to soften the air around him. Yunho gave a more relaxed smile.

"Oh, we loved it," he said, stretching slightly. "The food here is excellent. And the hot springs? Spectacular. King Aslan really knows how to treat his guests."

For a moment, the terrifying aura faded. He looked almost like a tourist sharing travel memories rather than a war-hardened mercenary king.

"But," Yunho continued, cracking his knuckles, "we are mercenaries. As much as we enjoy the comforts of your kingdom, we get restless without a good fight or some muscle-burning training. So I figured, why not start today?"

Inside my mind, Envi chimed in with a whisper:

"This guy... He’s the type who does whatever he pleases. And he’s hiding just how powerful he really is."

I silently agreed.

"I understand," I replied with a polite nod. "As it happens, we’ve just finished our familiar control training for the morning. We can use the afternoon session to train with you."

"Perfect," Yunho grinned. "But hey, drop the formality. Stop calling me with all those titles. Just Yunho is fine. Same with the queen—call her Mina."

Mina scoffed. "Mina-sama, you mean."

Yunho laughed nervously. "Ahaha... yeah, she’s particular about that."

"I—uh—I don’t mean any disrespect," I stammered. "It just feels wrong to address royalty by name alone."

"I get it," Yunho said, more serious now. "But I’ve never liked formalities. I hope you’ll understand."

I gave in with a smile. "Alright then... We haven’t officially introduced ourselves, have we? Once again, I’m Naoki von Blackmore—but just call me Naoki. It’s an honor, Yunho."

He stepped forward and took my hand in a firm shake.

"Good to meet you, Naoki."

But in the next second—he smiled thinly, and suddenly—

His aura exploded.

"!!"

The whole room tensed. His Forced Aura flooded the air like a tidal wave. Serena, Theresia, Cain, even Lyra all instinctively backed away, visibly struggling under the pressure.

They tried activating their own Forced Auras to resist—but it wasn’t enough. The difference in power was overwhelming.

I felt it too. My body felt like it was being pushed down to the floor. Runa, wide-eyed, took a step toward me, panic in her eyes.

But I quickly sent her a telepathic message:

"Don’t interfere. I’ve got this."

Inside me, Envi spoke again:

"That’s not just a normal aura, Nao. That’s Forced Aura on a level beyond anyone in this kingdom. It’s even stronger than Supreme-tier!"

My heart pounded, but I’d already suspected as much. Both Yunho and Mina had long surpassed human limits. Their power was on an entirely different scale.

"But listen—" Envi said, sharper now."—You’ve already broken your limit. Even if he’s far stronger, you can still stand your ground."

I exhaled slowly, grounding myself.

Then I released my own aura—Forced Aura: Supreme Level.

It surged out of me, stronger and sharper than it had ever been. Since breaking my limit, I could feel how much my aura had evolved.

Yunho’s overwhelming pressure met mine in the air. They clashed invisibly, but the weight of it was enough to make sweat drip from everyone’s brows.

The entire room held its breath.

Then—Yunho let out a deep, satisfied laugh and withdrew his aura.

"Ahahaha! My apologies, Naoki—I just wanted to see for myself." He stepped back, his smile more genuine now. "As expected... you are worthy of your title. The strongest hero of Braveheart. I’m impressed."

I forced a breath and smiled back, my hand still tingling from our handshake.

"...I’ll take that as a compliment."

We had officially accepted them—Mercenary King Yunho and Mercenary Queen Mina—as our instructors.

All of us, the heroes of Braveheart Kingdom, expressed our gratitude to them.Well... almost all of us.

There was one exception.

Cain.

He hadn’t taken their arrival lightly—especially after being overwhelmed by Yunho’s Forced Aura earlier. The sting to his pride was still fresh.

"I’m not training with a bunch of barbaric thugs," Cain muttered sharply, his voice low but full of venom.

I turned to him, trying to calm him down. "Cain, don’t start—"

But someone else had already overheard.

"What did you just say, Red-Haired Gorilla?!"

The voice was gruff and loud.

It came from one of Yunho’s escorts—a broad-shouldered man with a tightly cropped, dark red short hair, his arms and neck covered in tattoos. Muscles flexed as he hoisted a massive claymore from his back, glaring at Cain.

"Yunho-sama came here out of goodwill to train your sorry squad, and you’re gonna spit in his face? Shameless brat!"

Cain didn’t back down. In fact, he stepped forward, his eyes flaring with heat—literally.

"If I said no, then it’s no. You gonna force me, glorified errand boy?"

Flames danced around Cain’s sword and body, the air around him sizzling.Freya and Serena stepped in, trying to defuse him—but it was too late. His temper had flared.

Ahh, great. Here we go again.

Just as the tension neared its boiling point, Yunho’s voice boomed across the room.

"Well, well... Looks like we’ve got ourselves a warm-up match," he said, grinning. "Dragen seems fired up too. What do you think, Naoki?"

I nodded. Turning this into a proper sparring match was better than letting a full-blown conflict erupt.

"Alright!" I called out to everyone. "Today’s session will begin with a sparring match—Cain von Flamemore versus Dragen Skullblood. Since this is focused on Forced Aura mastery, the use of magic is forbidden. The match ends when one of them can no longer stand or voluntarily yields."

Cain looked a bit taken aback by the restriction on magic, but he didn’t falter. Instead, he stepped confidently toward Dragen, sword in hand.

"Tch, I don’t need magic to flatten him," he muttered. "Aura alone is enough."

That’s right. I’d almost forgotten—Cain was a total battle junkie. Nothing thrilled him more than a good fight.

Dragen let out a sharp breath through his nose, drawing his massive claymore. His aura flickered like stormlight.

"Begin!" I announced.

The two fighters launched forward, a clash of titanic force echoing through the training hall.

Blades met in a violent storm of pressure, their Forced Auras crackling against each other like thunder and lightning.

From the sidelines, I leaned closer to Serena and Theresia.

"Just how strong is this Dragen guy? Can Cain beat him?"

Serena narrowed her eyes, watching every movement. "I’ve fought him several times on the battlefield. Dragen’s tough—relentless. His endurance is incredible. I’d say he’s around the upper tier of Knight Rank A."

"But still not quite at Cain’s level," Theresia added. "Cain’s a true Rank S. Back then, we could only defeat Dragen and his squad with magic. Without it, he’ll be more trouble."

Serena nodded in agreement. "Cain might win, but it won’t be easy."

On the battlefield, the two men clashed again and again. It was relentless—almost mechanical.

Their Forced Auras collided in furious bursts, pushing and tearing at each other.

But slowly... I started seeing it.

Cain was winning.

Using my skill, [Eclipse Foresight], I could tell it was only a matter of time before Cain broke through.

Then—

"Damn you! Take this—[Mountain Cleave]!"

Dragen unleashed a massive, sweeping slash of Aura—a crushing horizontal wave.

But Cain didn’t flinch.

"[Vertical Strike!]" he shouted.

It was a basic technique, but fueled by a Supreme-level Forced Aura, it became monstrous.

Cain’s blade carved through Dragen’s attack like it was paper and sent him flying across the room, slamming into the wall with a violent crack.

Dragen couldn’t continue.

Victory: Cain.

He looked pleased—but only for a moment.

Then he did something that made my stomach drop.

He pointed his sword at Yunho.

"You’re next, Mercenary King! Fight me!"

Oh no...

Inside my head, Envi was laughing. "Oh this is gonna be fun. That hothead’s asking for it."

I groaned. "Cain, you idiot..."

I moved to stop him, along with Serena, Freya, and Theresia—but he ignored us all and charged at Yunho without hesitation.

Yunho... didn’t flinch.

Instead, he grinned.

"I like your spirit."

He stepped forward, casually removing his sword and shield—he wasn’t even going to use weapons.

Cain burned with fury. "Are you mocking me?!"

He lunged forward, his Aura flaring as he slashed at Yunho with everything he had.

BAM!

Gasps echoed through the room.

Yunho caught Cain’s sword—with one hand.

His left palm, bare, held the blade in place effortlessly. Not a scratch.

He had completely enveloped his body in a dense layer of Forced Aura.

Cain’s eyes went wide in disbelief.

Yunho gave a calm, almost amused smile. "Impressive—but not enough."

Then, in a flash—

BAM!

Yunho slammed Cain into the ground. Hard.

Cain didn’t move.

I sighed. I had seen this coming from a mile away.

Yunho’s aura was stronger than anyone in Braveheart. Stronger than mine.Even stronger than King Aslan’s—or my father’s.

Cain lay still, silent. The realization hit him like a second impact.

The Mercenary King... was on another level.

Yunho stepped back, releasing his grip, then turned to face all of us with a calm smile.

"This is the difference in our Aura. Study it well. Learn from it. And grow stronger—heroes of Braveheart."

We all felt the same thing in that moment.

A fire.

Not of defeat, but of determination.

We, the heroes of Braveheart Kingdom, would rise.

And one day—we would surpass the wall that is Yunho Draven.

....

..

.