Chapter: 138
Is more manpower an advantage in battle?
If we were to dissect this question one by one, it could go on forever, but generally speaking, this statement tends to hold true.
Having more combatants almost always gives you the upper hand.
Just look at games! The tougher the boss, the more raid members you need—there’s a reason for that!
In this situation, it’s the same. Right now, I have specs that are totally out of this world for a first-year Academy student!
I could probably take down two average parties by myself. Back during the field study, I could easily crash through one party when I was looting!
However, I can’t handle all these folks surrounding me solo.
If I trust what the Clumsy Fox said, we’re talking about nearly a hundred people.
Haha. Seeing this for real is enough to make me sick. I must have racked up quite the karma, huh? I mean, to have this many people gather just to take me down—it’s kind of intimidating.
But hey, thanks to my Mesugaki skills, I look pretty confident on the outside.
Forcing down the tension in my heart, I scanned the crowd that had come to raid me.
Their faces were filled with confusion, not hiding anything.
They probably think I’m hiding some sort of trap.
Unlike the old Lucy Alrn, I might have a nasty personality, but I’m a capable brat now. I wouldn’t show up unprepared!
The reality is that the only preparation I’ve done is ask Paybi to use a barrier spell to buy me some time if they charge right through that clearing. Other than that, I’m completely unprepared!
It was then that Arthur finally showed up.
Ah, it’s about time.
To be honest, if we fought head-on, there’s no way I could win against them.
If Benedict were here, he would’ve sent them all flying with one punch. Even if he was here with a sword, he could easily counter them. But for me? That’s still a stretch.
If it were a year from now, things would be different, but it’s still only the first semester of my first year.
I could probably hold out for a bit longer, but eventually, I’d get overwhelmed by their numbers.
Even if my party was with me, the outcome wouldn’t change. Maybe we could last a bit longer, but in the end, we’d face defeat.
So why am I here instead of running away? Am I really planning to get schooled by these losers to atone for my sins?
Not a chance! I have zero interest in letting those other idiots teach me a lesson.
Do you know how annoying it feels when negative thoughts take over your head during those lessons?
Unfortunately, unlike the Clumsy Fox, I’m not a masochist who wants to willingly go through a shitty experience.
So the only reason I’m here is to win against these hundred people. And in doing so, I’ll claim the loot they’ve got!
“Aah.”
The light-hearted voice I let out resonated through the clearing. It was a bit louder than I intended, but it’s not bad.
Joy really has good magic skills. It’s just that she messes up big time every time something important comes along.
If my voice hadn’t carried this time, I would’ve had to rely purely on my lung power.
“Hello♡ You pathetic losers who’ve gathered to bully a girl♡ What’s up?♡”
As soon as I dropped those words, all eyes turned to me.
Their expressions were mostly ones of disbelief. Naturally, they would be; the words I had just said were far from fitting for this situation.
“Aren’t you embarrassed?♡ Gathered around a small, cute girl like me, trembling in fear?♡ Shouldn’t you be crying for mommy and running away?♡ Huh?♡ Cowardly perverts?♡”
But amidst their astonishment, anger began to flicker in their eyes one by one, and it didn’t take long to ignite.
Even Karl, a knight from the Alrn family, couldn’t easily withstand the taunt of my Mesugaki skill.
There’s no way these Academy students, who barely fight independently, could hold that in.
I could hear their lips pressing tight. The sounds of tightened grips on weapons. Swearing. Frowning brows. And inside me, a sense of accomplishment started to swell.
My Mesugaki skill was doing its job splendidly today.
“Even the poor prince is the same♡ He can’t trust his own party to win and has to gather people♡ Forget the word ‘honor’?♡ Well, I guess a fool who loses to a dumb Young Lady wouldn’t know that!♡”
“Shut up! Lucy Alrn! Prince Arthur has gathered us to punish your crimes!”
One of them, who took it upon themselves to respond, snapped at me, trying to disturb Arthur’s calm demeanor.
I don’t know his name, but with those fiery eyes, he looks like some noble supporting the royal family. A type that values honor. Such a character is easy to play around with.
“Crimes?♡ What exactly did I do, you pathetic loser?♡”
“Everyone knows what you did during this field study; how can you deny it?”
“Aah~♡ That?♡ Why is that my fault?♡ Isn’t it your trashy worm’s fault for being weak?♡”
As I spoke, I could see anger spreading among the crowd.
Ideally, it should have been Arthur or another party leader who controlled the situation, but even they were flustered and couldn’t pay attention to the surroundings.
It was like a bomb’s fuse was burning, and no one noticed it.
Everything was going perfectly according to plan.
“Isn’t it true?♡ If you weren’t a bunch of wimps getting owned by a little girl, there wouldn’t be any problem!♡”
“That is!…”
“Aah~♡ You didn’t want to admit you’re the trashy garbage, huh?♡ Sorry?♡ Do you want to win and jerk yourself off like a coward, just to get interrupted?♡ Well, maybe you shouldn’t have been born trash!♡”
“LUCYYYYYYY! I’ll kill you!”
Just as I laughed mockingly, someone couldn’t contain their rage and charged forward.
That face was familiar from my memory. She was the girl who kept picking fights with me ever since I crashed her during the Academy entrance exam.
What was her name? I think I called her something like the ‘Loser Young Lady’ or ‘Garbage Young Lady.’
Anyway, thanks! Extra! You’ve actually helped kick off my plan!
You see, people are generally afraid to start. But once someone steps up and takes action, it’s easy for others to follow suit.
Just like how if someone walks past during a red light, people automatically start following behind.
Look! As soon as you made your move, Extra, the other Academy students also started charging in, didn’t they?
Arthur, finally snapping back to reality, raised his voice, but it didn’t mean anything anymore.
If that’s the case, he should have gotten things sorted before the bomb went off. Trying to stop it afterward? What’s the point?
“Mad?♡ Mad?♡ Hah!♡ You rushing at me reminds me of cockroaches!♡ Disgusting!♡ Gross!♡”
Is having a larger crowd in battle a good thing? As mentioned before, in most cases, it is.
But with a little twist, it can also not be.
This is one such case.
When soldiers who should be following orders lose control and act independently, having more people can turn disastrous.
Avant-garde warriors only looking at enemies, not caring if their comrades fall next to them.
The rear guard preparing their attacks without any concern for the front line getting caught up.
The ones in the middle who should be coordinating are rushing in with the vanguard.
Meanwhile, the ones assigned to control the chaos are also caught up in their rage.
Not long after the confusion began, I can see several of them rendered unable to fight—not by me, but by their own allies.
Can you see it now?
They are not a collective.
How can you call a group that lacks coordination, links, or control a collective?
They’re just individuals who are hell-bent on taking me down.
So far, everything is going according to plan.
If my opponent is certain to gather a collective to target me, then I’ll use that against them. That was the foundation of my strategy that I concocted alongside Granddad’s wise advice.
Now, what’s important is to buy time. Until this confusion reaching its peak becomes out of anyone’s control.
And that’s something I excel at.
No matter what anyone says, I am a tank, after all.
“DIE!”
The extra who lit the fuse rushed at me faster than anyone else, swinging her sword.
Hey there, Extra. We’re not exactly chummy, but you made quite the fuss, so we’ve fought a lot, haven’t we?
I mentioned before, but you do get swept up in emotions way too easily. It makes your moves so predictable.
Even without my Iron Wall skill, I can tell exactly how to counter your sword.
I moved my shield just in time to effortlessly block her attack, feeling the impact lessen significantly.
The parrying skill activated.
Her sword, which is normally easy to deal with, lost its momentum significantly thanks to the parry.
It was as if her sword barely touched my shield.
I pushed my shield forward, closing the distance and grabbing her by the collar, hefting her body up.
She twisted and struggled but escaping my grasp proved impossible.
The gulf of strength between us was just too large.
What must it feel like to dangle from the hands of a girl smaller than you?
The extra was then tossed back to where she had come from.
After watching the extra soar through the air, I flexed my fingers.
I definitely feel a lot lighter than usual.
Is it because my Mesugaki skill riled up nearly a hundred people? This kind of buff feels awesome.
At this rate, I could probably land a punch on Karl too.
With all that said, I don’t want to pull out my mace.
If I swing it carelessly, I might send someone straight to the next life.
Someone might treat a minor injury, but if one were to get sent off with a single blow to the trash heap of losers, well, that’d be impossible, right?
I don’t want to kill anyone yet!
So today, I’ll go with just my shield and bare hands.
As I looked at my hands and raised my gaze, I could see those closing in on me hesitating.
Looks like they’re coming to their senses after seeing that extra fly through the air.
But that’s a problem. You guys need to create more chaos.
“What’s up?♡ Scaredy-cats?♡ Can’t rush in?♡ Why bother running?♡ Did you pee your pants or something?♡ Haha!♡ You’re totally cowards!♡ You should hurry and go back to mommy and ask for some diapers!♡”
Come on.
I’m stronger than you, so let me toy with you.
Consider it an honor.
Pathetic losers.
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