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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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“Urgent report! Urgent report, sir! Mirinae Academy is headed our way!”
“What?! Are you sure?”
“Yes! Reports say they’re coming with Tanteroi!”
“With Tanteroi? What does that mean?”
“I’m just relaying what I’ve heard, sir. I don’t have further details…”
“Understood.”
Raymay and the Ruamos leadership had left for Velutos to propose an alliance. Those remaining in the Ruamos camp were primarily knights, led by Pelkins, the second-ranked student.
Since the Saintess, Raymay, was leading the delegation, most of their core forces naturally followed.
Pelkins had questioned Raymay about leaving their base camp so vulnerable, but she’d simply replied, ‘Everything is under control. Don’t worry.’
At the time, he hadn’t understood what she meant, but the messenger’s frantic report made things clearer.
‘There’s an information source we don’t know about.’
He had a strong feeling that an unsanctioned informant was feeding them intel.
Pelkins valued fair play above all else. He was one of the few Ruamos students who didn’t fawn over Raymay.
This allowed him to think more objectively, and he could guess how they were receiving information about Mirinae Academy, despite their reconnaissance magic being blocked.
‘How far will these devout followers stoop?’
Betrayal and alliances were acceptable in this competition where only one academy could ultimately claim victory, but relaying real-time information from outside the arena? That was blatant cheating.
While he fumed at this violation of the rules, Pelkins recognized his own powerlessness.
‘There’s nothing I can do.’
He had no powerful backers to protect him if he protested. He couldn’t risk being eliminated for challenging Raymay’s authority.
Swallowing his frustration, he resigned himself to playing his assigned role in Raymay’s plan.
He vowed to never be caught in such a compromising position again.
“Mirinae Academy is attacking! They’ve formed an alliance with Tanteroi, so be prepared!”
“But where are they coming from?”
“We’ll know as soon as they enter our territory. Our reconnaissance and alert magic will detect them. Just prepare the usual formation.”
“What about an ambush?”
“Deploy a minimal defense. After all, this is a forest…”
Pelkins answered each question calmly, preparing for Mirinae Academy’s attack.
Ruamos Academy’s main strength lay in its combination of paladins and priests, renowned for their resilience and sustained combat abilities.
Their strategy revolved around heavily armored paladins holding the front lines, supported by priests who provided buffs and heals, slowly wearing down the enemy.
While their attacks were slow and methodical, they excelled at attrition warfare, drawing the enemy into prolonged battles and relying on reinforcements to tip the scales.
‘We just need to hold out until Raymay returns.’
If their alliance proposal was successful, Raymay would return with Velutos reinforcements.
Then, Mirinae Academy, trapped in the forest, would face certain defeat and elimination.
The seemingly assured victory brought a bitter smile to Pelkins’s face.
‘I almost pity Mirinae.’
They probably believed their surprise attack was a success, completely unaware that their actions had been anticipated.
A feeling of pity mixed with disdain filled him as he ordered his troops to prepare for battle.
In situations like this, swiftly crushing the enemy was the only merciful course of action.
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As the Mirinae forces crossed the border into Ruamos territory, Lee Seok-hyun prepared for the next stage of his plan.
“But we might have been detected.”
“Huh?”
Mijuran looked at him quizzically.
‘Did I phrase that too dramatically?’
Sensing potential confusion, Lee Seok-hyun quickly clarified.
“Or rather, they’ve probably anticipated us. The timing is too perfect.”
“…?”
Mijuran still looked puzzled, and Lee Seok-hyun smiled faintly.
‘Making up lies on the spot is hard.’
The truth was, a Ruamos informant in the audience was relaying real-time information about the competition’s progress, but he couldn’t reveal that.
He had no way to explain how he’d obtained this intel, so he had to create a plausible, yet believable, fabrication.
The difficulty of crafting a convincing lie under pressure was immense.
“Ruamos knew we would target them the moment they left for Velutos. And they’ve likely used their reconnaissance magic to confirm Tanteroi’s near destruction.”
He wove a narrative that blended truth and fiction, painting a picture of Ruamos anticipating their every move.
He explained how Ruamos, aware of Mirinae’s aggressive strategy, would expect an attack and prepare accordingly. They would assume Velutos would be their strongest ally and adopt a defensive stance, awaiting Raymay’s return with reinforcements.
His carefully constructed deception worked perfectly; his teammates nodded, convinced by his logic.
“But then, what should we do? Shouldn’t we have avoided them? They might be waiting in ambush.”
“That’s unlikely.”
“Why?”
“Paladins aren’t equipped for ambushes.”
While paladins boasted high defense and sustained combat abilities, their heavy armor limited their mobility and agility.
They could hide, but launching a surprise attack wasn’t their forte. To ambush effectively, they’d have to remove their armor, sacrificing their primary advantage.
“That doesn’t mean they’re completely unprepared. They’ll have set some traps, and a small ambush is possible.”
But we’ve prepared for that as well.
While they might not have the same defensive capabilities as paladins, their knights were far more agile.
“Isn’t that right, Meitan?”
“Th-that’s right… We’ll protect you… So please, keep your promise…!”
“Do you really not trust me? I’m hurt. I told you, I’ll get you second place.”
So stop trembling and just follow my instructions.
Lee Seok-hyun smiled brightly, patting Meitan’s back reassuringly, then ordered the Tanteroi students to advance.
“You know what’s funny about this Territory Capture event? Everyone keeps talking about formations, but the terrain is so vast that formations are practically meaningless.”
No matter how impressive their shield wall or how strategically positioned their priests, it wouldn’t matter.
Their opponents weren’t mindless monsters; they wouldn’t simply charge in a straight line.
That was precisely why they were so easy to manipulate.
“They’re probably imagining themselves as characters in some grand war epic, thinking, ‘Maintain formation!’”
“But we’re in formation, aren’t we?”
“We’re different.”
Lee Seok-hyun shrugged at Woo Do-hyun’s puzzled question.
“We’re about to change our strategy.”
So they knew their position and had prepared for a surprise attack? That was irrelevant.
‘They won’t be able to counter it anyway.’
If they were relaying information in real time, he would simply exploit the delay, the gap between observation and reaction.
If they could see his movements, he would deceive them with illusions.
The strategy was deceptively simple.
Lee Seok-hyun, weaving strands of spider silk, anchored them firmly to the surrounding trees.
“It’s time I showed you how I won the survival game.”
Death to the incompetent army that failed to utilize the terrain to their advantage.
It was time to deliver the final blow.
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Thirty minutes after the news of Mirinae’s advance reached them, Pelkins was bombarded with conflicting reports.
“Ambush! We’ve been ambushed!”
“The Tanteroi students are incredibly strong! They’re fighting like cornered beasts!”
“What?! I thought they were allies! Do they not realize they’ll be betrayed if they get eliminated?!”
Had Tanteroi truly been that foolish? To act as cannon fodder for another academy, fighting on the front lines without considering the possibility of betrayal?
How could such a thing even happen?
Just thirty minutes earlier, Pelkins had been optimistic, confident in their impending victory. Now, he felt a growing sense of dread, a premonition of disaster.
“How many are there?”
“I… I don’t know. They seem to appear and disappear… Our scouts are having trouble tracking them…”
“What?! Where’s Lee Seok-hyun?! You should at least know his location!”
Pelkins, a staunch advocate for justice and fair play, found himself desperately seeking outside information as the situation grew increasingly dire.
But in that moment, he disregarded his principles, pushing aside his righteous ideals.
The urgency of the situation forced him to abandon his usual composure.
His true nature, a reflection of Raymay’s pragmatism, emerged.
“Lee Seok-hyun is… in the trees…?”
“In the trees…? What does that even mean? Is he a monkey or something?”
“A monkey? That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?”
“…?!”
An unfamiliar voice interrupted their conversation.
Despite hearing it for the first time, Pelkins instantly recognized its owner.
“Lee Seok-hyun! Where are you?!”
“He told you, didn’t he? I’m in the trees.”
–Whir-whirrrrrr.
A thin strand of spider silk shot out, wrapping tightly around Pelkins’s neck.
Pelkins felt a strange sensation and instinctively drew his sword, attempting to sever the thread, but Lee Seok-hyun was faster.
“Congratulations on becoming the first recipient of my explosive necklace.”
–BANG!
An explosion erupted from his neck.
The image of their commander, killed in the heart of their own territory, seared itself into the minds of the Ruamos students.
“You’re in fourth place.”
Lee Seok-hyun declared their fate, and the Ruamos students, stunned into silence, could only watch helplessly as Pelkins vanished, eliminated from the competition.
They knew, with chilling certainty, that their own fate would soon follow.
A wave of despair washed over them, crushing their spirits.
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