Heroes of Past and Present Arc

The Third Army Arc is the twenty-fifth arc of the Light Novel in The Rising of the Shield Hero. This arc is light novel exclusive and does not appear in the Web Novel.

Synopsis
Naofumi and his village are suddenly transported to the strange and distant past. How will they survive this tumultuous time and get to where they belong?

Summary
Returning from Glass' World, Shield Hero Naofumi Iwatani and his party start to investigate into how to defeat the self-proclaimed gods. Investigating the ancient ruin of Sanctuary, they are able to unlock the 0 Series weapons. They return to Lurolona Village. However, before they are able to learn more, Naofumi suddenly hears a frantic warning from S'yne's Sister and the whole village is suddenly transported to an unknown location. Cut off from help, they explore their surroundings and learn that they have been transported into the ancient past. After a brief fight, Naofumi's party meets the Shield Hero of the past Mamoru Shirono and his companion R'yne. Making peace, the two groups start a mutually beneficial relationship. Naofumi also meets Holn Anthreya who is the mad, but genius alchemist of this era.

Unfortunately, Lurolona Village was transported in the middle of contested territory between Mamoru's country Siltran and the country of Piensa. Hearing that Piensa is about to invade, Naofumi and his village are able to help Siltran defeat the much larger invasion force. Taking advantage of this temporary peace, Naofumi grows his trading business and meets the pacifier of the time: Natalia. The alchemist Holn causes some trouble within the village, but Naofumi and his party are able to take care of it. Afterwards, one of the children Mamoru adopted, Cian, asks Naofumi to protect Mamoru from himself. She then leads Naofumi to the ancient shield hero's secret lab where he is attempting to create stronger demi-human races and revive his recently deceased lover Filolia. After a brief confrontation, Naofumi and his friends offer to help Mamoru as best as they can. However, before they are able to make much progress, a new wave appears.

Arriving at the waves, Naofumi and his party notice that it is drastically different than the waves of the modern day. At the centre is a self-proclaimed god who is the directing the wave as if it were a game show. The heroes try to defeat him but are easily overwhelmed. However, they switch to their 0 Series weapon and kill the self-proclaimed god with a surprise attack. They then end the wave.

Return back to the village, they prepare for the dangers ahead: crafting accessories, training, and gathering new gear. Holn shows off her special hammer which she hopes can pass down techniques through the generations. Later on, pacifier Natalia is accidentally chosen to be the Vassal Hammer wielder - to her dismay. Knowing that the aggressive nation of Piensa is attempting to get ancient relics from Sanctuary, Naofumi and the other heroes head there to stop them. Somehow, Piensa was able to obtain weapons which cause "incurable" wounds. Any attempts to heal will just make the injury worse. After some of Naofumi's team was injured with these weapons, he learned to use his 0 Series to cure them for some unknown cost. Eventually, Naofumi and his party are ambushed by Vassal Weapon wielders of another world. Naofumi's team is just barely able to overcome them. However, heading to Sanctuary, they find one of the self-proclaimed gods who has stolen the Vassal Carriage. Upon meeting them, the self-proclaimed god kidnaps Melty and then heads to Piensa.

Information will be added with later releases.

Volume 20

 * Chapter Three: The Sword Hero's Sense of Responsibility
 * Chapter Four: The Filolial Ruins
 * Chapter Five: Village Abnormality
 * Chapter Six: Encounter with Extinct Monsters
 * Chapter Seven: Double the Shield Heroes
 * Chapter Eight: Hero Worship
 * Chapter Nine: Ancient Siltran
 * Chapter Ten: The Evil Researcher
 * Chapter Eleven: Bread Trees and Bread Troubles
 * Chapter Twelve: A Determination to War
 * Chapter Thirteen: Online Trolling
 * Epilogue: Different Constellations

Volume 21

 * Prologue: Use of Floating Weapons
 * Chapter One: The Siltran Situation
 * Chapter Two: Wagon Travel with Keel and the Gang
 * Chapter Three: Wave Trauma
 * Chapter Four: Thanks to the Assassin
 * Chapter Five: Genetic Modification
 * Chapter Six: Mikey
 * Chapter Seven: The Raph Species Upgrade Plan
 * Chapter Eight: The Troubles of the Shield Hero
 * Chapter Nine: Confusion Target
 * Chapter Ten: Filolia
 * Chapter Eleven: The Imitations (Improved)
 * Chapter Twelve: The Origin of the Waves
 * Chapter Thirteen: How to Kill a God
 * Epilogue: The Fear of Those Who are Eternal

Volume 22

 * Prologue: The Reticent Blacksmith
 * Chapter One: The Progenitor
 * Chapter Two: Claws and Hammer Power-Up Methods
 * Chapter Three: Holn's Research Weapon
 * Chapter Four: Quality Check of Heroes
 * Chapter Five: Gathering the Power of the Raph Species
 * Chapter Six: Selecting the Hammer Hero
 * Chapter Seven: Origin of the Past Heavenly Emperor
 * Chapter Eight: 0 Territory
 * Chapter Nine: Heroic Presence
 * Chapter Ten: Exclusive Equipment
 * Chapter Eleven: Dinosaur Hunting
 * Chapter Twelve: Unexpected Visitors from Piensa
 * Chapter Thirteen: Beast Transformation of Rage
 * Chapter Fourteen: Known Vassal Weapon Heroes
 * Chapter Fifteen: In the Sanctuary
 * Epilogue: Dragon Slayer

Volume 23
Information to be added later on.

Character Introductions

 * Mamoru Shirono
 * R'yne
 * Holn Anthreya
 * Cian
 * Ancient Legendary Bow Hero
 * Natalia
 * Filolia