The Third-Rate Academy Villain Who Refuses to Become a Beggar

The demons' scheme had ultimately succeeded.

There was a loss of numerous supplies, and the core World Tree branch had been contaminated.

"...Haha."

Gerhard stared helplessly at the World Tree branch, about a quarter of which had turned black.

Was it over?

A failure like this?

At that moment, Ariadne strode over, forcefully tore apart the remains of the box, and took out the World Tree branch.

Then she summoned a wind blade.

--!

The World Tree branch trembled. A slight scratch appeared where the blade had passed.

"What are you doing!"

--!

"I asked what you're doing!"

"Senior, you said this person is Hyde, right? Please tell him to cut this for me."

"You want to cut the World Tree branch?"

"Cutting off the contaminated part is the best option. That's the only way to save what's left."

"Save it...?"

"Don't underestimate the Mother Tree's vitality. Even though it's not the main body but just its avatar."

At Ariadne's assertion, Gerhard nodded to Hyde.

Hyde drew his sword. The sharply honed red aura came down directly on the World Tree's avatar.

--!

"This is quite hard...!"

"Keep cutting. You absolutely must cut it! As quickly as possible!"

Gerhard shouted urgently after noticing the black flow contaminating the sapling was slightly increasing.

If they waited any longer, they might have to throw away the healthy parts too.

Once, twice, three times, four times.

After dozens of slashes, the contaminated part of the avatar was finally cut off.

Fizzzzz, the branch that fell to the ground emitted acrid smoke.

Gerhard looked at the World Tree branch, which seemed excessively pruned, and asked:

"Is it okay?"

"The Mother Tree's avatar just screamed."

"The fact that it screamed means it's still alive."

He let out a sigh of relief.

"...Took ten years off my life."

He didn't even want to imagine what the repercussions would have been if the World Tree branch had been completely contaminated and the mission had failed, or how great the loss would have been.

"Hyde, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Are you alright, young master?"

"I'm fine."

He had used quite a bit of magical power to control the golems to their limits, but that was all.

Originally, controlling golems consumed not only magical power but also mental strength in equal measure, but for some reason, he was fine this time.

'Perhaps I've gotten used to the headaches.'

Indeed, the headache after controlling a golem was a drop in the bucket compared to the aftereffects of reading the future.

"But what can we do about that?"

"About what?"

"If there's such an obvious cut section, it's like admitting there was a problem."

"If we plant it, it will gradually recover... but that's probably not what you want. There is a way, but it's a method you'll really dislike."

"It costs a lot of money?"

Ariadne nodded.

"If we give it elixir, the regeneration will be faster."

"...What an absurdly annoying thing."

"It's disrespectful to speak of the Mother Tree's avatar that way."

"It's your Mother Tree, not mine."

"That's true."

Once again, she readily agreed.

"But how will you contain this? The box is shattered."

"Don't worry. I prepared several extra boxes just in case."

Given the situation where we couldn't know to what extent the demons would interfere, I had made all possible preparations.

I didn't expect things to unfold this way, but I at least had spare boxes to hold the World Tree branch.

"That's somewhat fortunate."

"Yes, that much at least."

For now, damage control was the priority.

"Let's go up. We need to assess the damage and take care of things."

"Yes. I'll take you up."

"Wait."

Just before mounting the spirits' wind, Gerhard's gaze suddenly turned to the fallen branch.

"Why are you picking that up all of a sudden?"

"It's still the avatar of the World Tree, isn't it?"

Even if contaminated, its essence didn't disappear.

'You never know. I might be able to request the Dragon Faith Church to purify it.'

The loss is severe, so I should try to recover it in any way possible.

"Then why those monster chunks?"

"They might be worth money."

"That grotesque and disgusting thing?"

"The value of an object varies depending on the person."

Gerhard took out storage containers from his subspace, separately stored the split World Tree branch and the monster chunks, and finally ascended to the surface.

***

Above was complete chaos.

The sudden collapse of the ground had swallowed half of the campsite, leaving behind a gaping maw of darkness where tents, supplies, and people had stood just moments before. The air was thick with dust and the panicked cries of the injured and disoriented. Torches flickered wildly in the darkness, casting long, distorted shadows across what remained of the camp's perimeter.

Gerhard had created platforms right after the collapse to minimize damage, floating structures of translucent magic that glowed with a soft blue light against the night sky. These hastily conjured platforms had caught many who would have otherwise plummeted to their deaths, suspended between safety and the abyss below. But despite his quick thinking, there were still significant material losses and many injured. Workers and guards alike lay sprawled across the remaining solid ground, some clutching bloodied limbs, others helping their comrades limp toward makeshift medical stations where healers worked frantically.

The only fortunate thing was that there were no fatalities. It was truly a stroke of luck.

"Gather the injured and supplies, and relocate the campsite."

"Yes!"

Fortunately, the rain had stopped, but night had fallen.

The only consolation might be that members of the company who had regained their senses before Gerhard came up were already handling the situation to some extent.

"I'm glad you're alright."

"How are the injured?"

"Among the 100 guards, 21 with minor injuries, 12 with serious injuries. Among the 100 workers, 53 with minor injuries, 27 with serious injuries. Among the 50 elves, 18 with minor injuries. Thanks to your response, fortunately, there are no fatalities."

"The wagons?"

"8 out of 10 wagons fell. Of those, 5 were completely destroyed and their supplies lost. The other 3 wagons themselves are relatively fine, but many items are lost, and we're checking them one by one."