Chapter 166
Chapter 166
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: 150 Armored Soldiers
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If there were a hundred and fifty armored soldiers, whether I used Self-Immolation, activated White Flower, or pulled off whatever bullshit, I couldn't win.
Even if Dean Alderson helped out and the other Spirit Mountain folks joined in, it would be the same.
I looked at Alderson with a baffled stare.
"You're telling me you made that many combat golems? Were you seriously plotting a rebellion or something?"
"I told you. I admired the White Knights. The legendary White Knights numbered exactly a hundred and fifty in total."
"So why make that many? One or two—or generously, ten—would've been plenty for decoration."
"Well..."
As I narrowed my eyes and glared, the dean hesitated before mumbling.
"Historical accuracy had to be maintained..."
"..."
For a split second, I nearly lunged and yanked out his beard.
"What are you doing right now?"
"...Hm."
I snapped out of it and realized I was gripping his beard, so I stepped back a little.
And just like that, I was reminded anew that Dean Alderson was one eccentric bastard.
Sure, the one I'd met was a doll, but it had copied the original's personality perfectly anyway.
I let out a sigh and said.
"If the Demon King has already descended and revealed himself, it's safe to assume most of the world has been corrupted by malice."
"You're right. The concentration outside the building is especially thick. An ordinary cadet wouldn't last half a day before dying. In other words..."
"Right now, the only ones who can hold out are those with the Great Families' blessings."
"Exactly."
I pondered for a moment before asking.
"Do dolls get affected by malice too?"
"What do you mean?"
"The first omen of the Demon King's descent: creatures tainted by malice mutate."
I glanced out the window. Dolls were racing around the academy grounds like rabid beasts.
"If normal dolls turned into demons because of the malice, it would explain their current state."
"Hm."
The dean thought for a bit before replying.
"It's possible if they're dolls infused with souls."
"Souls?"
"The common term is necromancy. You've heard of the Abravam Witch Society, right?"
"Oh, them."
"...One of the continent's mysterious factions."
Alderson saw right through my obvious acting and continued.
"It's an enigmatic organization whose base and members remain completely unknown. I have some acquaintance with the Doll Witch among them..."
Alderson went on.
"If you bind a soul to a doll, it becomes a cursed doll. Depending on your perspective, you could even call it a living being."
"Then it makes sense to see the small dolls as mutated lifeforms and the larger adult-sized ones as summoned demons."
Summoning demons was stage two.
Stage three was the solar eclipse, but...
I looked at the blood-red moon. With no sun rising here, there was no way to tell if an eclipse had happened.
Truth be told, with the Demon King already descended, this wasn't the time for analyzing omens anyway.
"The malice is acting up strangely."
"Hm?"
"Dean, is this building safe?"
Alderson replied.
"What I just cast is a grand spell. A barrier for fortifying positions, used only in massive wars. Even the Demon King's malice won't breach it right away."
"So it will get pierced eventually."
"...If I had amplification tools and my body was in normal condition, we could've held out for at least a week, but..."
Alderson muttered in a slightly dejected tone.
As a grand archmage, it seemed hard for him to admit his own shortcomings even in this worst-case scenario.
It was right to respect the pride of a true master.
I nodded and said.
"Good. That means the cadets we've secured in this building are safe for the time being. The situation simplifies things. If we can just take down the princess, we win."
"Back to square one, then. A hundred and fifty armored soldiers are guarding the princess. Your feat of beating the legion commander is impressive, but challenging my White Knights is pure recklessness."
"Isn't there some way to control them? They're powerful—which means dangerous. Combat golems of that caliber must have safety measures for emergencies."
"Er..."
Alderson looked troubled, then sighed.
"Of course there is. Every armored soldier has a magic stone I processed myself embedded in it. Inject mana in a specific rhythm, and it shuts down."
It sounded like an easy fix to this mess, but...
If it were that simple, Alderson wouldn't be balking.
"There are conditions?"
"Yes. You must've noticed... my current state isn't normal. My internals are badly tangled, so I can't operate mana properly. The rhythm I set is quite complex—matching the sensitivity alone would take at least ten minutes."
"Ten minutes."
Alderson shook his head.
"You know it. Impossible."
"No. Ten minutes might just be doable."
"Really?"
I nodded vaguely.
Honestly, even I wasn't fully confident in the method, and there were too many factors to explain in detail.
"Then—"
Alderson brightened and started to continue.
Aaaaaaaaah...
A scream from beyond the window cut him off.
The dean and I clamped our mouths shut and headed to the window. The reddish-tinted academy grounds came into view.
And atop them, a group racing along.
"That's..."
Academy cadets.
The dean said urgently.
"They're being chased. We need to rescue them now."
"In that body?"
"I'm not at full strength, but that number of dolls is no problem."
"No. Dean, you need to conserve every bit of strength. I'll go."
As I said that, I eyed the cadet at the front of the pack.
A guy wearing a big beret.
"Besides, I spot someone I need to see anyway."
* * *
I jumped down from the rooftop, landed lightly, and dashed across the blood-soaked academy grounds.
'The malice concentration feels way thicker than during the training camp.'
With the Demon King already descended, it was only natural.
Still, I could endure it better than last time. Probably because my anti-demonic power had risen quite a bit after contracting with the divine beast. Worth the training I'd squeezed in on the way to the academy.
'As for the rest...'
Thanks to Leone, my physical condition was near peak...
But my internal energy was nearly depleted.
In percentages, maybe five percent left?
Considering the battles ahead, it was woefully insufficient no matter how I sliced it.
'Separately from that.'
The faint malice lodged inside me writhed as it met the malice outside the building.
It was absurd.
Instinct told me that if I opened my body even slightly, the malice would flood in and fill me up in an instant.
'No.'
Even if completely eradicating it was impossible, I had to at least prevent it from growing any bigger.
Past a certain point, hiding it would become impossible.
'I need internal energy.'
If my dantian was brimming with internal energy, the malice's presence would naturally diminish.
Normally, recovering spent internal energy meant meditation and breath control, but...
I glanced up at the sky.
A blood-red heaven with not even a sliver of sun.
Running the Flame Arts of the Greatest here all day wouldn't gather more than a speck.
Of course, there was a way.
I pulled out a spirit jade from my pocket.
The spirit jade, steadily depleted through consistent training, now held only about half its original amount.
A crude, highly inefficient method, but I had no better options.
Crunch.
I popped it in my mouth and chewed.
Naturally, it didn't break easily.
'Damn thing's tough as hell.'
But I was a man who'd never let a candy fully melt.
I had to crush it with my teeth midway—that was how I rolled. No backing down here.
I wedged the spirit jade between my molars and bore down.
I'd even coated my teeth with the scant internal energy I had left.
Craaaack...!
Finally, the spirit jade shattered.
The massive vital energy condensed inside exploded like a burst dam.
My jaw went slack for a moment, nearly spitting it all out. That would've ruined everything, so I clamped my mouth shut with one hand.
I chewed and swallowed the fragments.
Once crushed, they turned mushy and were easy to gulp down.
My throat burned like fire, but I endured.
Gulp.
After swallowing every bit, I kept running while absorbing the vital energy into my body.
I let the unabsorbed portions roam my meridians freely, focusing on filling my empty dantian for now.
Of course, it was possible only thanks to the Flame Arts of the Greatest. An ordinary martial artist trying this would collapse into ashes.
'Not bad.'
By the time my dantian swelled full, I'd reached my destination.
Glenn Scarlet and a group of cadets were in sight.
There were far more cadets than expected. Easily fifty at a glance.
They were fleeing from dolls, but most had glazed eyes. One was even drooling.
Probably the malice.
At this rate, an hour more and they'd either die or succumb to madness.
The moment I reached for my yin-yang blade.
The bushes to the left rustled, and a golden flash streaked out.
'Fast.'
I caught the face of the lightning-quick arrival.
Bater Goodspring.
Sword aura clung to his blade, gleaming like molten gold.
Crack.
Bater tensed his legs, flipping the ground slightly, and in a blink, he'd closed the distance to the cadets.
Slash—!
He swung at blinding speed, severing an adult doll's head.
One stroke.
Swift and clean.
Bater wasn't alone.
A band of armed followers poured out behind him—not cadets, judging by their ages.
His subordinates?
Either way, they joined the fray in seconds, swiftly subduing the dolls.
Among them, a familiar face.
"Ruan."
Hector lit up at the sight of me.
I nodded casually, then merged with Bater's group to smash the dolls.
There were plenty, but Bater's crew was formidable, so we cleaned up without issue.
Soon after, with all dolls down, Bater let out a small sigh.
"Hoo..."
He sheathed his sword neatly, then bowed to Glenn.
"I'm relieved you're safe, Your Highness."
"...Sir Bater."
Acquaintances? Their demeanor suggested as much. It'd be weirder if the royals and Goodsprings weren't on speaking terms.
As I tilted my head to eavesdrop, another familiar face approached—besides Hector.
The white-haired one: Seren.
"You're safe."
"For now."
I looked at Seren and asked.
"Didn't expect you to get dragged here too. What happened?"
"I was in class at the main building, taking notes on funeral rites. Next thing I know, I open my eyes and I'm here."
I paused at her response.
"You were in class at the main building? You're sure?"
"Yeah."
So it wasn't just those who'd gone to the research annex?
I scanned the surroundings again.
'...Definitely.'
Too many heads.
No way that many would've gone to the research annex together.
Sorting my thoughts, I spoke up.
"There's a temporary stronghold. One of the research annex buildings—the dean cast a grand spell, so it's safer than elsewhere. Let's head there for now."
"Hm. Not a bad idea, but..."
Seren's expression clouded slightly.
What kind of reaction was that?
I followed her subtle nod toward Bater.
"No way."
A raised voice.
Hector's.
Bater and Hector.
They glared at each other, arguing. I'd heard they weren't on bad terms, but it sure didn't look that way now.
As eyes turned their way, Hector flinched and lowered his voice.
It was a whisper, but I caught it.
"...If we leave the cadets here as is, they'll all die."
"Same goes for the alternative. If we don't kill the Demon King, we're all dead anyway."
"That's true, but..."
Hector hesitated, then said.
"...Escorting them to somewhere relatively safe nearby."
"Time is of the essence. We can't assume the princess will stay put forever. Lose her trail in this massive academy, and we lose."
"Then permit a brief detachment. I'll lead them."
"Denied. Every single fighter counts right now. With our odds already slim, I can't waste a valuable asset like you on something pointless."
Bater's tone grew icy.
"Hector Bednicker. In emergencies, the Imperial Special Forces' authority supersedes even the royal knights."
"..."
"Defying orders is a grave crime. Understood?"
I got the picture.
Bater and his crew seemed to know the princess's location...
And were torn between pursuing her or protecting the cadets they'd run into.
'They must've figured out the princess is the ringleader.'
Bater wanted pursuit... Hector prioritized the cadets. Hence the standoff.
Honestly, neither was definitively right.
Bater's seemingly heartless stance wasn't entirely wrong either.
'But denying Hector's detachment outright is too rigid.'
Either way, their argument was pointless.
They didn't know it, but thanks to the dean, we had a safe spot secured...
I could just escort the cadets there instead of Hector.
I was about to step in when Bater sneered.
"Or is it that, being a Bednicker, you just don't want to follow Goodspring orders?"
That off-topic jab got under my skin.
"Listen to you... Hey, Sir Butter. That's a bit much."
Bater's gaze turned to me.
"Butter? No, Bater. You're Ruan Bednicker?"
He smirked and said.
"I heard you got a blessing in the second ceremony. So you're decently useful as manpower. Join my unit effective immediately and follow orders."
I stared blankly at Bater for a second before retorting.
"I'm not one of your men. Why should I follow your orders?"
"Of course you should. In situations like this, someone like me needs to take command."
"And what makes you so special?"
"Someone who can accurately assess the situation. Make the right calls based on that. And take responsibility for those calls. In other words."
Bater's eyes fixed on me.
"The strongest one here."
"I see."
I nodded at his calm declaration and added.
"But I have no intention of taking command."
"..."
Bater paused, eyeing me oddly.