Chapter 67
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Quasi-War (2)
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Cigarette had always wondered.
What exactly was her power for?
‘This is troublesome.’
She stared at the target straight ahead.
A prickling sense of intimidation, like being stabbed with needles, and raw killing intent.
Stronger than any enemy she had ever faced.
‘...No, that’s not quite right.’
Whatever it was, it wasn’t the important issue right now.
There was only one thing she needed to focus on.
Making sure the monster before her eyes didn’t dare lay a finger on her students.
“Professor Mikhail, I’m counting on you.”
She called out to Mikhail, who was behind her releasing the barrier.
With those words, Cigarette left the cadets’ side.
She wanted to protect them to the very end if possible, but the situation made that impossible.
If she dragged things out needlessly and that monster charged first, they’d suffer heavy losses.
Thus, a preemptive strike was the unavoidable choice.
“It’s coming!”
She gripped her sword with both hands. Cigarette channeled her maximum-output Cleave into the blade.
Boom!!
It was a straight slash from above downward.
‘...As expected.’
Hoggs wasn’t hurt in the slightest.
He hadn’t even defended with that massive greatsword.
He had simply stood in place, waiting for Cigarette’s attack.
He had taken it purely with his armor.
Thanks to that arrogant display, Cigarette was certain.
‘He’s done something to that armor.’
Most knights shed their armor as they grew stronger.
The reason was simple.
To put it bluntly, it was meaningless.
Knights who had surpassed their trait level inherently possessed flesh tougher than any armor.
Since their skin itself functioned as armor, cumbersome plating generally did more harm than good.
That left two possible hypotheses.
Either he was using some special metal unknown to Cigarette.
Or the armor itself was imbued with power.
“An excellent strike, but so predictable—you’ll never cut me like that.”
Cigarette decided on the latter.
“We’ll see about that.”
Cigarette charged again.
The swift swing of her sword once more failed to land a solid hit.
Hoggs keenly exploited the natural opening that formed after her attack.
Whoosh.
The sound of air being cleaved rang out murderously.
The greatsword looked heavy at a glance, but propelled by Hoggs’ monstrous strength, its speed rivaled a cannonball.
Cigarette didn’t dodge.
Thud.
Instead, she took a step closer, delving into point-blank range.
A fatal flaw of the greatsword.
It boasted overwhelming reach, but was weak in ultra-close quarters.
In contrast, Cigarette’s weapon was a standard longsword—relatively advantageous against a greatsword.
“Using your head!”
“Textbook stuff.”
Hoggs’ greatsword whiffed spectacularly.
Now it was Cigarette’s turn again.
‘Normal attacks aren’t getting through. But the armor didn’t feel any denser. It’s like the attack itself never registered...’
Hoggs’ words during the first strike.
The various traits Hoggs had shown.
The odd sensation felt when striking the armor.
Putting all the clues together, she reached a conclusion.
She planted her foot against the ground.
With a powerful lift of her slightly lowered upper body, she swung her sword.
Or pretended to.
Cigarette released the sword mid-swing.
The blade spun rapidly through the air. It would fall limp soon enough, but even a fleeting distraction of his gaze was enough.
The ultra-close standoff continued.
Cigarette lightly twisted her waist and drove her fist into Hoggs’ abdomen.
Boom!
Punching armor that even blocked Cleave?
At a glance, Cigarette’s action seemed utterly foolish. But!
Crunch!
That foolish punch had clearly connected.
“...Fun!”
The slightly dented armor. The retreating Hoggs.
Cigarette had proven her hypothesis correct.
“Handy piece of gear.”
“A blessing from the Demon King. Swear your loyalty to him, and you could have one too.”
“No thanks. I’m plenty strong without that junk.”
To sum up the armor’s ability: invalidation of all recognized attack actions.
If Hoggs perceived an attack through any means, the armor’s power activated and nullified it.
But as Cigarette had just proven, it didn’t work on attacks he failed to recognize.
‘Though that’s probably not the whole story.’
Hoggs surely had other tricks left.
This was her second certainty.
The defensive ability was granted to the armor, not Hoggs himself.
His helmet concealed his race, and she hadn’t even glimpsed his full power yet.
The fight was just getting started.
“Want to try again?”
She couldn’t guarantee victory.
Coldly speaking, she would lose.
Even so, she had to act confident.
Power was meaningless if she couldn’t protect them.
The cadets were watching.
If she acted like she was winning, then they could finally relax.
So.
This time, no matter what.
Somehow.
“Here I come.”
She would protect them.
Cigarette threw herself forward once more.
While deafening roars echoed from the center of the battlefield.
The cadets positioned behind Cigarette were experiencing war firsthand.
“Did you see that?!”
“The professor landed a hit!”
Just as Cigarette intended.
Seeing her gain the upper hand—or so it seemed—the cadets began showing more confidence.
“Alright, let’s do this.”
“Professor Mikhail, how much longer?”
“...About ten minutes!”
They moved to their respective positions.
Mages skilled in ranged attacks stayed at the center, while knights formed a ring around the perimeter.
Facing the charging demons, each steeled their resolve.
They had been dragged here without knowing why, but there was hope now!
If they held like this, everyone could survive!
‘That’s what these idiots are thinking, huh.’
Amid them, one cadet harbored the sole pessimistic thought.
‘I get Professor Cigarette’s intent. Don’t panic right now. But she’s planning to die over there.’
Evan Vertes.
The guy who had once gone to the village with Roel.
It was a distant memory, but yes—that was the one who’d spent the whole day insisting he was ‘the smart one.’
And what was Evan’s blessing, exactly?
‘Good, my brain’s working fine. While these fools flail around, let’s think this through.’
A swordsman in the knight class.
Not a great fit at all, but his blessing was none other than Intelligence.
‘That’s the Demon King’s army. A ton of them. Each one matches an upper demon, so with our forces, five minutes is the limit.’
‘If we leave Professor Cigarette like that, she’ll definitely lose. She’s going all-out while the demons are toying around. High chance they’ve got hidden cards too.’
‘Roel’s been gone a while. Probably got something from that elder elf. No way she’s rushing here now anyway. We’ve gotta handle this with our own strength.’
During the village incident.
Evan had first doubted his own abilities.
For all his claims of being smart, he hadn’t anticipated the villagers’ betrayal.
From that day on, whenever venturing out, Evan always considered betrayal scenarios first.
In other words, this situation was well within his expected range!
Evan’s mind began spinning at unprecedented speed.
3.
2.
1.
“Hey, you rags!!”
Evan bellowed.
He’d found the way.
“From now on, follow my orders. No backtalk. It’s yes, period.”
Too many cooks spoil the broth.
Stepping up in a crisis like this proved his confidence, so no one on the battlefield raised any objections to Evan’s words.
“Now assigning roles.”
They couldn’t all fight together.
We weren’t the only ones who could coordinate.
Forget winning. Their job was to hold out.
Endure somehow until the enemy’s head fell.
“First, Professor Mikhail. Focus solely on releasing the barrier. Nothing else.”
He didn’t know about the other cadets, but Evan had memorized every name and blessing of everyone present.
“Leo, you move the earth. Build walls where I say, and cover some areas up to the ceiling. Don’t worry about depletion. You can rest right after.”
Leo Tegmet. Blessing: ground manipulation.
“Next, Ted and Ray. You two get a joint task. Cover the areas Leo makes with barriers. Humans pass freely, but demons can’t even approach!”
Ted Brinhelm. Blessing: range expansion.
Ray Merion. Blessing: output boost.
“Helen! Your role’s the most crucial. Link your mind to mine. From that moment, transmit every thought I have as magic to everyone.”
Helen Forrest. Blessing: Connection to All Things!
“That’s all for orders.”
Around fifty of them against over two hundred.
The belief that everyone would survive...
Was there.
My plan? No way it fails!
“Helen, begin! I’ll tell you now who goes where.”
“...So that’s why we’re here?”
Everyone followed Evan’s orders, scattering according to Leo’s shifting terrain.
Sera and Laila were no exceptions.
Obeying ‘quietly’ stung their pride, but Evan was the one who could come up with the best plan.
With everyone’s lives on the line, they had no choice but to follow.
The problem was...
“S-Sera Cadet...?”
Our lives seemed to be in danger.
“Oh, more humans have come.”
Dirt walls stretched in every direction.
Inside one, a bloodied Cigarette was locked in combat.
“Fine. If we’re told to go in, we go.”
Sera, Laila, Cigarette.
And Hoggs.
“Let’s go, Laila. Time to help the professor.”
“Say the word if your weapon breaks.”
This place was a ‘3-vs-1’ battlefield.