“It’s a relief that we have this many people. If it were only four or five, we would have been surrounded by the enemy long ago.”
“Is that so?”
Carolyn said that with a hint of fear in her voice in response to Jennifer’s words. However, her hands moved calmly despite her tone.
With one hand gripping her staff, she traced a magic circle with the other and chanted some spell. It’s not something anyone could do unless they had nearly reached their peak. Skipping the chanting means maintaining concentration, even with enemies closing in—definitely not an easy feat.
Jennifer felt a bit surprised inside, seeing someone who had never been in a real battle display such capability, but she didn’t show it on the outside. After all, she was a teacher at the Empire’s top academy. If she didn’t have the skills, she wouldn’t have made it to that position.
Most of those fighting ahead were students. Each enemy was a formidable force that couldn’t be dismissed lightly.
However, Jennifer wasn’t too worried just yet.
It wasn’t simply about trusting the students’ abilities.
Having spent a long time on the battlefield, Jennifer had learned to assess the situation at a glance. The most important thing for a commander is to observe the battlefield and effectively manage support from the rear. That’s how the front-line troops can maintain morale and minimize damage while fighting.
Moreover, the number of enemies pushing from behind was simply too high.
If it were only a dozen, they might be dealt with in an instant. But the opponents were civilians that couldn’t be recklessly killed. Besides, there were too many to consider when speaking of a ‘dozen’ from the rear. People were also entering from the other side, naturally affecting the students fighting ahead.
“Jake, Roti. You two will go ahead and support the fighters.”
Jennifer said this for that very reason.
What Roti was holding was a rifle. It might be a different story if she had specially designed ammunition for riot control—but no, even such bullets didn’t exist for ‘rifles’ yet—Roti’s ammunition was thoroughly meant for actual combat.
Naturally, if hit, it would be lethal. The risk of death was present no matter where it struck.
Then, it’s wise to use such ammunition on ‘those who can afford to die.’
Of course, Jake would be there to protect Roti. Having a couple in love on the battlefield comes with its risks. If one gets seriously injured or killed, the other would likely lose their mind. Yet conversely, if both could safely keep each other alive, they could create a greater synergy.
Roti nodded rapidly in response and immediately moved along with Jake. Though Jake glanced back for a moment, Jennifer merely nodded back.
“Haah!”
In the meantime, Carolyn completed her casting.
As Carolyn’s staff shimmered with a green light, a gust of wind rushed through the surroundings. It was as if a typhoon had invaded the building; everyone coming forward was pushed back. It seemed she had adjusted her power to avoid serious injury, as no one was rolling on the floor or dangerously bumping their heads.
Had the opponents been knights and not civilians, the effect wouldn’t have been so effective. Whether it was the emperor’s arrogance that prevented controlling the knights or it was just not possible, Jennifer felt grateful for that situation for a moment.
And then Mia moved.
Gripping a staff as big as herself, she drew a large arc as if painting the ground.
Simultaneously, with a crack, an ice wall shot up along the arc she drew.
“It won’t break for a while…,”
Mia said in a somewhat timid voice. Jennifer responded with a slight smile at Mia.
“It’s okay. If we can hold them off for even a moment, it means we have time to shift our strength elsewhere. We’ll move forward as well. But let’s not neglect watching the back… let’s get to where we can support with magic and firearms.”
Carolyn and Mia nodded in unison to Jennifer’s words.
The three of them moved to where the battle raged, using wind and ice to shift furniture like chairs into barricades.
Thud—
The sound resonated, and Jayden quickly raised his shield.
With a ping, a bullet whizzed past the angled part of the shield. Just for a moment, sparks flickered there.
“This is why I hate guns.”
Jayden muttered, lowering his shield slightly.
As a series of gunfire followed, Jayden jumped to the side. Pew pew, bullets hit the ground where he had been standing, causing debris to fly.
It was Roti’s gun.
Alice concluded that. With Jayden in front, she had no leisure to look back.
“I’m sorry, but Father wants to meet Sylvia. He still has unfinished machinery.”
“…Does the machine need someone with ‘Fanggriffon’ blood to operate?”
“Well, there’s no reason to hide it now; let’s say that’s true. But you can’t go.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’ve already seen the results.”
“…”
Alice couldn’t come up with a response to that.
She felt it. When the masked woman aimed a gun at Sylvia, clearly intending to kill her. But she didn’t show any killing intent toward Sylvia herself.
Although she was holding Sylvia’s weapon, the woman hadn’t used a proper sword technique that would befit Sylvia.
So, perhaps, that masked woman…
“Is this situation representing that result?”
Jayden didn’t bother to answer.
With a shield in one hand and a sword in the other—a sword so large that it was difficult to wield with one hand—Jayden charged toward Alice.
“Ugh!”
There was no time to dodge. All Alice could do was brace herself to take Jayden’s blow.
“To be honest, you’re a bit lacking in inheriting your father’s talent. Did you slack off on training?”
“…!”
Alice gritted her teeth and poured strength into both hands to push back Jayden’s sword.
She had trained. She truly took pride in saying she had done so diligently. She could confidently say she worked harder than anyone else, studying and swinging her sword.
But in the end, talent was a different story. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t catch up to someone at the top.
Besides, Jayden seemed oblivious, but—if he were a little more like the ‘child of the empire’…
“You definitely have nothing to say to a lady.”
Clang!
With the sound of blades colliding, another sword struck against Jayden’s sword.
Pushed slightly back by the combined strength of the two, Jayden steadied his posture.
“Phew.”
With a light exhale, Jake ran his hand through his hair.
“Your name was Jayden, right? Since it sounds similar to mine, I can’t easily forget it.”
Jake said with the light tone reminiscent of his academy days.
“They talk about talent and such, but isn’t it really that you envy Alice? She’s the emperor’s true daughter, after all. I’m sure that’s why you worked so hard to become a Knight Commander.”
“…”
Upon hearing Jake’s words, Jayden scowled, clearly displeased.
Jayden genuinely liked Sylvia. From Alice’s perspective, at least that feeling appeared to be sincere.
Someone who, like her, managed to maintain dignity without ‘mixed blood’, focusing on the work that needed to be done without care for status.
But he didn’t even consider that this was due to an inferiority complex toward Alice.
After all, Alice had also been envious of other children.
“I know because I’m someone who has continuously betrayed my father’s expectations. It’s the exact opposite of your case, where you continue to meet those expectations yet still fail to get what you desire. You’re still fighting so hard to meet the emperor’s expectations, aren’t you?”
“What do you know?”
Upon seeing Jayden reply like that, Jake merely shrugged once.
“…You want to go see Sylvia, don’t you?”
“…”
As Jake indirectly asked, Alice lightly nodded her head.
“Okay, then I’ll cooperate. Go and do what you need to do.”
“Got it.”
Seeing Jake prepare himself, Alice also gripped her sword with both hands.
Jayden glanced at the two, shifting his gaze slightly.
…From behind the cathedral, from the area where the Pope’s seat was located, knights were entering.
Not the cathedral knights, but clearly knights clad in imperial armor.
Though they weren’t a massive number, clearly, it would be quite a struggle to get through to them.
“Well, knights die just like anyone else when shot, I suppose.”
With his words seeming to ease the tension, Jake muttered that, and Alice let out a small chuckle.
You may also like Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy
