Academy’s Barbarian

At the time when Ha-shal-leur’s party was ascending the Eternal Ascension Road, their comrades on the city walls were also turning the cultists’ residence into hell.

– Boom!

The lower half of a cultist running through the streets was torn to shreds by an arrow swirling with a vortex. The steel armor was effortlessly pierced, and the flesh inside was ground up like an apple in a blender.

More like artillery fire than sniping. Milia, standing atop the city walls, looked down at the city that had become no different from a Kobold ranch, hunting every Kobold in sight. Her arrows carried her contempt and disgust.

The men who managed to dodge the arrows and climb the walls met the same fate as the cultists in the streets.

“Finally caught you! You damn archer… huh?!”

“Watch your mouth.”

– Crash!

Damien’s greatsword crushed the cultist’s body, armor and all, slicing him in half.

A massive iron slab as tall as a grown man. Every time Damien swung his sword, everything it touched shattered into fragments.

Unless they were powerful monsters with strength beyond that of a master, mere cultists at the level of a knight couldn’t withstand such attacks.

“Kyaaah!”

“What the hell is this monster?!”

Though overshadowed by Ha-shal-leur’s daily beatings, Damien was also a genius-level master knight.

Thanks to countless sparring sessions and intense real battles, his skills had been rapidly improving, and he had now reached a level where he could be counted among the top masters.

“Fall back! Turn around and push that archer girl inside the walls!”

Realizing they couldn’t even hold their ground, let alone win, the cultists tried to bypass Damien and target Milia directly.

Considering the destructive power of the arrows that turned the ground to dust, she was undoubtedly a formidable opponent, but her frail appearance made her seem easier to handle than Damien.

If they could just push her into the city, she would surely be brainwashed and turned into a prostitute by the Heng-eum’s formation.

However, the other side of Damien was equally dangerous.

“Damien, if more than ten come at me, it’s going to be tough…!”

“Sorry. I need your help!”

“I said it’s tough!”

Grumbling, Hersh threw a dagger, piercing the eyes of two cultists, and used a wire from her wrist to strangle another.

A neck sliced clean to the bone. The severed throat sprayed blood, staining her face crimson.

The cultists, overwhelmed by one human and one black-skinned fighter, piled up corpses on the walls without even touching Milia.

—

After about ten minutes of fighting, as the bodies pushed off the walls formed pools of blood, Hersh retrieved her thrown daggers and wiped the blood from her face.

A tired sigh escaped her lips. Unlike Milia and Damien, who had reached the level of masters, she was just a fast-moving knight.

Fighting in the open daylight on the walls didn’t play to her strengths.

“Shouldn’t we retreat soon? Or at least move positions. If we keep fighting here and a higher-up shows up…”

Hersh cautiously suggested retreat. She wasn’t in immediate danger, but the increasing strength of the enemies was unsettling.

The fact that they were fighting on the walls would have reached the ears of higher-ups like Eljure or Belcus. Hersh didn’t know how many master-level fighters the cultists had, but if four or more came to the walls, she honestly doubted they could hold out.

“Hmm… Hersh has a point. What do you think, Milia?”

“That sounds good. I don’t have many arrows left. Let’s retreat for now.”

Damien and Milia agreed with Hersh. They weren’t exhausted yet, but with enough achievements, there was no need to push further.

After tirelessly hunting “Kobolds,” the quiver on the walls was now empty.

Only about forty arrows remained. Even if Milia killed one enemy per arrow, she had taken down nearly four hundred. The advantage of the high ground was clear.

With their decision made, they grabbed daggers and headed for the edge of the walls.

It wasn’t as high as Berengeiria, but jumping down was still daunting. They planned to climb down using their daggers like picks.

“Oh, leaving so soon?”

A seductive voice stopped them in their tracks.

‘This voice, could it be…?!’

Startled, Hersh turned her head sharply toward the source.

In the direction she looked, the empty space on the walls rippled like a curtain being drawn, revealing three cultists.

Illusion magic. Hersh’s instincts screamed. It was already too late to avoid.

“Belcus was right. If they came in a single carriage, it must be Ai-shan Gi-or.”

“El…jure…!”

“Huh? You know me…? Even the Five Blades didn’t know my true identity… How did you figure it out?”

Hersh clenched her teeth, sweating profusely.

Heretic Eljure. Kist Amon. And an unknown middle-aged man.

The opponents she least wanted to face had arrived, completely hidden in appearance and presence!

“Jump down!”

Damien urgently shouted, grabbing Milia and leaping.

The two fell toward the ground below. Damien’s greatsword gouged the wall, slowing their descent with levitation magic.

“What about me?!”

Hersh forgot her manners and shouted in panic. Damien naturally prioritized his lover, and Hersh could climb down on her own, but…

Being left behind like a lizard’s tail felt awful.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

The middle-aged man leaped over the wall, chasing Damien. His back bulged, and a monster’s arm sprouted.

A long arm resembling dozens of human arms fused together. The claws at its fingertips scraped the wall, sending stone dust flying.

“Quick judgment… Are these the famous subordinates of Median? ‘Wingless’ Damien, ‘Imera’s Arrow’ Milia… Such annoying nicknames.”

Eljure frowned as she watched the three descend. Hersh was of no concern. Grateful for Eljure’s arrogance and indifference, Hersh quickly leaped off the wall.

Regardless, Eljure didn’t even glance at Hersh. She simply descended using levitation magic, watching Damien and Milia.

A mere pawn below the level of a master wasn’t worth her attention. Though it was surprising they knew her identity.

Of course, Kist, Eljure’s subordinate, thought differently. He was furious that a traitor had emerged from the Five Blades he had recruited.

Taking Eljure’s place, Kist, armed with clawed gauntlets, chased after the half-black, half-fairy traitor.

—

‘We were just waiting for the Shaulite Holy Legion to arrive, but of course, Ai-shan Gi-or had to show up. A walking disaster.’

Descending slowly, Eljure sighed inwardly.

Ha-shal-leur Ai-shan Gi-or.

The Empire’s strongest warrior and the first hero of the era.

Facing her was worse than running. Those who opposed her were slaughtered without exception, not even leaving corpses.

Even within the Heng-eum’s formation, Lacey Staldorf was likely present, and according to reports, an Astraea paladin was also with them.

The identity was clear. As far as Eljure knew, there was only one paladin who would travel with Ha-shal-leur at this point.

‘High Judge, Golden Seilon…’

To Eljure, he was even more troublesome than Ha-shal-leur.

Astraea’s miracles were deadly against beings like her, and unlike warriors who only wielded swords, paladins had close combat, ranged attacks, healing, and defense.

‘Diraid must be dead. What bad luck.’

In Eljure’s judgment, with Ha-shal-leur and Seilon attacking together, Diraid had no chance of survival. Even with a monster’s body granting immense power, his opponents were experts at slaughtering such monsters.

In a way, it was fortunate. If Ha-shal-leur’s carriage had targeted the Imera Cathedral instead of the Shaulite Cathedral, Eljure herself would have been torn apart in Diraid’s place.

– Crash!

A loud explosion shook the ground. Damien’s greatsword and the middle-aged man’s halberd clashed, sending shockwaves. The monster’s arm from the man’s back slammed into the ground.

As soon as she landed, Milia nocked an arrow and fired at Eljure, who was slowly descending.

– Whirl!

An arrow imbued with a vortex flew toward Eljure. She countered with a swirling vortex, neutralizing Milia’s arrow as she touched the ground.

‘Belcus asked for some time, but with two masters separated… I can’t pass up such a good opportunity.’

Watching Milia nock another arrow, Eljure spread her arms and gathered mana.

Imera’s Arrow, Milia.

Though not a follower of the Imera Church, being a girl with Imera’s name meant she deserved special attention.

Like the paladins and nuns crushed under livestock in the burning Imera Cathedral.

The sight of a paladin mixing tongues with livestock, swaying their hips, was so ridiculous it made her smile just thinking about it.

“Now. Dance like bugs and die like dogs. A corpse and a bitch. A fine gift for Ai-shan Gi-or!”

Eljure’s high-level magic lit up the sky in a dazzling display.

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