The One Luna

"Ah!" The youth was surprised. He had been so infatuated this whole time that he didn't even bother to check and notice that Ines had no indication of being part of the . The only thing that gave it away was her asking about Luna. Anybody who has lived in any part of the Nation wouldn't have needed to ask about their leader. This didn't trigger any alarms, however, since, for him, she was harmless. But still, he had to ask.

"How come you're not part of our Nation yet? They should have required you to join, no?"

"About this..." Ines thought up a quick excuse. "I'm a special case, you see. I have a special ability that I can't really show you, but it's something that your leaders saw high value in. I told them that I will join if I see that they treat their people fairly. They're a bit busy with the defense at the moment so they told me I have a week to go around and see before I decide."

"Oh, so you're an important person!" Due to his infatuation, Josh was already quite biased towards Ines. The lovestruck youth believed her instantly.

"I guess you could say that," Ines was relieved on the inside as she smiled.

"Wow! I never thought I'd become friends with a VIP!" He replied, as his admiration only grew more, yet at the same time, someone so important, he felt as if his chances of being with her became slimmer.

If only he knew, that he had none, to begin with.

"Just keep it a secret, okay? Now, before I make my decision, I wish to know more about your leader," She asked as she patted on the spot next to her, signaling that Josh should come over and sit beside her. The young man obliged.

As he sat beside her, he started right away, "Well, where do I start? In terms of fairness, Lord Luna is fair to everyone. He's not like those corrupt officials that would steal from the people. In fact, he is quite generous. Did you know that he could have been way more powerful? And yet, since it was for the betterment of the Nation, he gave away even the inheritance from the Star Goddess to Lord Bonifacio. All because he knew that it would bolster our overall defenses. He gave away free housing to everyone. Even rare drops. He has never held back as long as it was for the good of everyone."

"I see, he is indeed generous. But, as with any person in power, they will be afraid to lose it. Are you certain that he's not doing anything to hold you all back in order to secure his spot?" Ines continued to inquire.

"Absolutely not! As a matter of fact, my previous leader who resided up North did that. Yet, Lord Luna came in an set an example of how keeping your people weak, just to hold on to an illusion of power will inevitably lead to a Nation's doom. This is why he provides us with the equipment we need and why he trains us well. Even regular citizens are required to train up to a certain minimum level. He relies only on his own strength, that's why he's confident of keeping everyone strong. Even then, Lord Luna's strength is still unfathomable. No one has really seen him use his full strength."

The two continued to converse as Ines began to have a deeper understanding of this Nation's so-called leader. Eventually, she found out that Luna had been ahead since the very beginning and never got complacent. This was why the , through the earlier announcements had been recognized as the top Nation. She found out about Sura and Maxene's origin as well.

Thus, she deemed the Luna to be the perfect candidate for her plan. The problem now, was how was she supposed to convince him? In order for her to even have any chance at it, she would have to risk her life first.

But to be able to live in this paradise called Earth? To her, it was worth it. After all, due to the current situation she was in along with her special circ.u.mstances, she was probably the only one capable of pulling this plan off.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Back in the Western front, things were looking good for the 's soldiers.

There were indeed some people who got intimidated by the enemy before them. Luckily, they had strong-willed individuals in their squads as well, who helped mitigate the early shock they received. The strong ones would act as the vanguard as the weaker ones would acclimate themselves to being on the battlefield.

Although there was a handful that took long to adapt, most of the soldiers quickly composed themselves and joined in on the fight. Due to these people, injuries were to be expected. Thankfully, this was minimized by the backline support they received from the Mages and their elementals.

Fighting in a battlefield against such an imposing army was a lot different from going out on hunts to grind levels or fighting from atop the walls. They would meet these newer, much stronger enemies than what they were used to, fully knowing that these new foes were very much capable of killing them if they were careless. It was like when you were playing an MMORPG and you went from killing monsters twenty levels below you to fighting a huge army of monsters at the same level as you.

"It seems our soldiers need some encouragement," Sura suggested as she looked towards Luna.

"Indeed," he replied as he unsheathed his pair of modified Itak Tagalogs. These were the same pair that he carried since the new world started. However, they were now upgraded to their full potential, along with the Gunblade modification. These weapons were deadly either in a ranged fight or in a melee.

Pointing both Itak Tagalogs forward, Luna charged two shots fully. This was another option he had unlocked after the enhancement level reached +9.

The ability to charge a much more powerful shot. He could either charge an explosive shot or one with a high piercing capability. The current shot he was charging was the former. A ball of atmospheric energy formed in front of each barrel.

"Time to try out this new trick," Luna thought as he slowly infused his Fire Anito which had recently reached the 4th stage thanks to the EXP Agimat that helped him with his breakthrough.

"Infuse!" He willed the Fire Anito to fuse perfectly with the atmospheric energy.

Maxene, Sura, and even Elder Aran were surprised. After all, despite his level being higher than the majority of the people here, the Elder was never one of the frontliners during the war in his world. He had never held an upgraded weapon before recently as there was never much of a need to. He especially had never wielded a Gunblade before, or any type of gun for that matter.

A couple seconds after Luna infused both energies, they flew forward at lightning speed.

*FWOOM!*

...

BOOM!

Both energy balls hit the Void army's backline, leaving a crater and charred body parts scattered all over the place.

"What a devastating skill. Too bad it consumes quite a bit of Mana. It is a higher level skill, after all. Your understanding of your Anito has improved quite significantly, Lord Luna. Congratulations!" Elder Aran commented.

"Thank you, Elder. Now, let's lead by example," Luna replied.

"Yes, father!" Maxene excitedly replied.

"I've been itching for an all-out fight," Even the usually stoic-faced Sura shared their enthusiasm.

"Sigh. This family is truly bloodthirsty," Elder Aran didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It was to be expected.

After all, Sura came from a warrior race that was innately gifted in terms of combat.

Luna carried the bloodline of a proud True Dragon.

Maxene was influenced by both her parents, so her love for combat was expected.

Of course, Angry Bakunawa was always on standby should anything go awry. Luna was confident, but not to the point where he wouldn't account for anything unexpected. His death would cause the 's collapse, after all.

"Let's go," Luna commanded as the trio disappeared from their current spot. As they got closer to the enemy's front line, they leaped forward.

*BOOM*

They landed in front of the crater that Luna had created earlier.

Elder Aran followed suit, covering himself in Lightning Armor he disappeared in a flash and caught up to the trio in no time.

"Sigh. I'm glad I got assigned to take command from here because there is no way I'm able to keep up with those four," Paco laughed bitterly as he carried out the command Luna gave him before he left. "Sovereign Nation! Your leaders are currently in the enemy's backline! Your goal is simple: Reach them in the shortest time possible and assist them!"

"What? Lord Luna?" The people who were feeling intimidated before forgot about their fear and their shock transferred to the fact that their leader was currently wading through the enemy's backline.

"Heh. Only our leaders would be daring enough to do such a thing," a Soldier commented through comms.

"If Lord Luna, Lady Sura, Lady Maxene, and Elder Aran are willing to put themselves in danger, then what are you bunch acting all scared for?!" Paco compounded the others' statements, giving them the push that they needed.

This made the others feel ashamed. They knew that Paco's words were true. Luna was currently showing them through action that whatever danger they were being put through as of right now, he was willing to put himself in as well. And in a much higher degree at that.

-----------------------------------------------------

"WHAT ARE THEY DOING?! ARE THEY CRAZY?!" General Vizicsacsi was quite shocked when he saw what Luna and the rest did.

"General! This is the best opportunity! They've practically offered themselves to us! Let's surround them, exhaust them and take them out!" An Officer immediately suggested.

General Vizicsacsi hesitated. "Do you think you understand the situation more than I do?!"

"My apologies, General! This lowly one spoke out of turn!" The Officer's face paled after being reprimanded. But he still couldn't understand why Vizicsacsi didn't follow his suggestion.

"I understand how you're all feeling. The next course of action seems obvious, and to be honest it's the only choice we have. But did you stop to think as to why that man would put himself in, what we see from our perspective, as a danger? Not only that, he would bring that person who is seemingly his lover and possibly their daughter?" Vizicsacsi replied, broadening the perspective of his Officers.

Luna held his Guandao in one hand, and Sura's hand in the other while Maxene stood in front of them, facing towards Vizicsacsi's direction. Anybody who saw this would guess that they were a family. The only reason why they didn't assume that Elder Aran was the grandfather was that he was obviously an Elf.

"Only the truly strong would be so daring. Have the men surround them, but have them focus on buying as much time as possible. Reach out to the other Generals closest to us and have them assist us right away!" Vizicsacsi prepared himself as a blue aura emanated from within him, giving his body a very bluish hue. Giving the visual as if his skin was formed from water. Giving the half-donkey General an imposing aura.

"This family is bold. Quite bold."

Vizicsacsi clenched his fists. It was quite rare for him, but he felt a tinge of dread as he cast his gaze upon the Luna and the rest.

-----------------------------------------------------

"Looks like Donkey Papa Smurf over there is their leader, father!" Maxene pointed towards Vizicsacsi in the distance. It was obvious that her humor definitely came from Boni.

"Indeed. Let's see how strong he is, shall we? SCAN!" Luna quickly found out that the General was currently at level 70.

"Seventy? That's a bit low." Sura commented.

"Let's not underestimate him. For someone to reach his position, it would be a mistake to assume he's just another Juan," Luna warned. Not a lot of people were as lazy as the Engkanto they encountered before.

"I know. It's just that, I'm sure I can defeat him by myself," Sura smiled. One should never forget, after all, that the higher her level, the more her existing skills would increase in strength along with more skills being gained until she regained all of the ones she originally had before having her level reset by the .

Sura was the only person whom people were sure could go toe-to-toe with Luna in the and come out at least even.