I got into school for nothing - 168
I got into school for nothing (168)
Lesson 34. Free Subjugation - 3
The bombing targeted the forest barrier protecting the Wolf Fang Tribe Village.
Slothy, a Nataehu, immediately drew upon her mana to retaliate, but she couldn't endlessly block the bombardment.
“Emergency――! They're here!”
“Those damned dimension pirates! I'll wipe them all out!”
The beast-kin, who had been brimming with festive excitement, instantly transformed it into fighting spirit, leaping to their feet.
The avian tribe, an aerial combat unit, spread their wings and soared, while the simian tribe prepared a plethora of sharply honed arrowheads, infusing them with mana before hurling them.
Half of the beast-kin, who possessed neither wings nor throwing abilities, climbed the trees to act as shields for their allies―― the rest poured their mana into the magic circle created by Slothy.
As the Guardian Wolf standing atop the tallest tree roared, some of the falling shells exploded on the spot, or even bounced back into the sky as if rewound.
“Lucia!”
“Yes.”
What the nine-tailed fox created were several small orbs of flame.
Though they appeared utterly minuscule on the surface, there were precisely nine of them.
The orbs, cutting through the void and unleashed, astonishingly tracked, pierced, and exploded the torrent of shells pouring from the dimension pirate fleet one by one. Without losing momentum, they soared higher, ultimately setting a single dimension pirate ship ablaze in a spectacular inferno.
“We can’t stop them all, can we?”
“But we have our son-in-law today.”
“They seem to have come especially prepared. Looks like they noticed our son-in-law is here.”
Even after casually shaving off nearly ten percent of the enemy's main force, Kanid and Lucia's expressions were far from good.
After all, the abilities they had just unleashed weren't something they could endlessly pour out.
The bastards' raids had occurred several times before, but this one was particularly massive.
Seeing over thirty ships cleave through the dimensions to appear, one couldn't help but feel uneasy.
“Oh no, Rucell will be upset.”
Lucia said, creating additional fire orbs and launching them into the sky.
Her worried expression, with one hand resting on her cheek, was truly seductive.
“She must have looked forward to her first night, but now it's just the first round.”
“But wait, who went to call those guys?”
“The third one.”
“......Don't ever tell her that.”
* * *
―CRASH!
“――Dokgo Yeon?”
“Is it an attack? We heard the bombing too.”
“......”
When Dokgo Yeon roughly flung open the door, Ban Yuwon and Rucell had already finished preparing to leave.
But Dokgo Yeon was not deceived by their neat appearance.
The subtle heat lingering in the room, Rucell exuding a sweet scent as if to ask how anyone could miss it, and above all, the flushed cheeks of both Ban Yuwon and Rucell, made it quite easy to guess what had transpired in the room just moments before.
“......You two seem to have had quite a pleasant time.”
“Uh, yes. So much so that I want to tear apart the people who just happened to attack at this exact moment...”
Rucell replied honestly.
It was a natural response, as she was never one to try and hide anything.
“Ah...”
Dokgo Yeon had initially expected the two to develop such a relationship, and in some ways, had even supported it. However, the moment she heard Rucell's answer, a myriad of emotions surged within her.
Yet, she was afraid to clearly define the emotion that held the greatest weight among them, so Dokgo Yeon decided to refrain from revealing any more of her feelings.
She had already been odd enough today.
She could not allow herself to display any further indignity.
“......Alright. If the two of you have solidified your relationship, then I suppose I can expect you to act more composed in front of others from now on.”
“No, that might be difficult for Rucell... Never mind. Let's go, Rucell.”
“Yes! ♡”
Rucell naturally linked arms with Ban Yuwon, but Dokgo Yeon merely twitched an eyebrow without commenting on it.
Perhaps she judged that since the two had crossed a line and become a perfect pair, this much was acceptable, Ban Yuwon thought. But there was no greater misunderstanding than that.
“Rucell, we have to fight soon, so let go.”
“It's still hard to walk. So I'll just lean on you for a bit.”
“That sounds like a lie...”
“It's all because of Yuwon! ♡”
The two of them exited the door, exchanging embarrassing remarks.
Dokgo Yeon followed behind them with a calm expression, when suddenly Rucell whispered just loud enough for her to hear.
“What I said before, I meant it.”
“What you said before?”
Dokgo Yeon wore a puzzled expression.
Rucell turned back to her and, without making a sound, mouthed the words.
‘It's fine if it's you.’
Having conveyed that, she went outside with Ban Yuwon.
Only then did Dokgo Yeon recall having had such a conversation with Rucell sometime before, but it wasn't as if she could reply to Rucell with 'Thank you so much for your permission'.
However, whether it was because she had claimed the spot beside Ban Yuwon or not, Rucell, with her overflowing, relaxed smile, felt incredibly hateful.
That expression, as if she knew everything in Dokgo Yeon's heart.
She could never acknowledge it.
So, for now, she had no choice but to seal off her tumultuous emotions and feign ignorance.
* * *
“Wow, are they crazy?”
Meanwhile, Ban Yuwon, completely oblivious to the chilling exchange of emotions between the two women, clicked his tongue as he assessed the war situation.
“Are they planning to finish everything on the first day? They're acting in such a hurry, as if even a slight delay would cause a major problem.”
No matter how formidable Slothy's barrier was, it couldn't possibly block every single indiscriminate bombardment.
Originally, the dense canopy of trees had blocked out the sky, making it impossible to look up. But now, holes were ripped here and there across the Wolf Fang Tribe Village's territory, allowing the moonlight to pour down.
The massive fleet that filled the sky was merely an added bonus.
“Is Lyu Cheolmyeong there?”
“He would never show himself. More importantly, Ban Yuwon, can you send me high up?”
“Not difficult at all.”
The trees were already riddled with holes, making it easier for mechanical constructs to move.
Ban Yuwon summoned Gwangjo and had Dokgo Yeon board it.
“Surely you're not planning to charge?”
“Don't worry, I have no intention of risking my life.”
“Right, you'll be fine.”
Gwangjo swiftly soared into the sky.
Ban Yuwon summoned Lilyth, transformed it into its bike form, and, taking Rucell with him, followed closely, breaking through the forest canopy.
“Son-in-law, you've come!”
Kanid, spotting him, approached with a welcoming expression.
Given what Ban Yuwon had accomplished that afternoon, it was no surprise that Kanid was relying on him.
And indeed, Ban Yuwon had several countermeasures to resist the cowards attacking from their position in the sky.
“Please gather the people.”
“Anything!”
Slothy's barrier magic was slowly reaching its limits.
Even if she channeled the mana of other beast-kin through the magic circle, Slothy's mental capacity to handle that mana had its own limitations.
With a single, forceful roar, Kanid gathered all the beast-kin who now had nothing else to do, summoning them onto the trees.
“From now on, I will help you fly in the sky for a certain period. Then you can fight them, right?”
“Are you saying we'll grow wings like the avian tribe?”
“You'll know once you experience it.”
Ban Yuwon, having anticipated the enemy's aerial attack, took out what he had prepared and distributed it among the beast-kin.
These were shoes imbued with the concepts of 'levitation' and 'flight'.
Since he couldn't directly interfere with the concepts within the beast-kin's bodies, he had created these makeshift artifacts.
However, as they were only temporarily created through Language Magic, they would plummet once the mana was completely expended after a certain period.
‘Fighting for today should be fine.’
The beast-kin, most of whom were a race that didn't typically wear shoes, found them uncomfortable, but this was not the time for complaints.
“Oh?! I'm flying! Even though I'm not a flying squirrel!”
“This is fun! At this rate―― I could smash those bastards myself!”
“Let's go, let's crush them right now!”
“......No need for training at all.”
Once they put on the shoes, the beast-kin, with their naturally superior physical abilities, quickly adapted to levitation and flight. They collectively soared into the sky and charged at the dimension pirate fleet.
Dokgo Yeon must have already started wreaking havoc, as the dimension pirates were scrambling onto their decks, looking bewildered. It was only a matter of time before the bombardment completely ceased.
Kanid watched the tide of battle turn in an instant, utterly awestruck.
“Is it truly possible to mass-produce artifacts like this?”
“Because he's the Master.”
Rucell, still showing no intention of separating from Ban Yuwon, said proudly.
Lucia, who had somehow approached from behind, pulled Rucell away.
“Kyaang?!”
“You, come here. I'll teach you the nine-tailed fox's offensive magic, so learn as you fight.”
“B-but, with the Master now――!”
“Don't disturb our son-in-law.”
Ban Yuwon watched, impressed, as several fire orbs floated around Lucia. Soon, he saw Rucell also creating similar orbs of energy.
Unlike her mother's, Rucell's orbs were a peculiar blend of fire and electricity, which was likely due to the artifact she was wearing.
“It's amazing. Rucell was originally purely a physical combatant.”
“A nine-tailed fox inherently grows stronger when she has a mate. Do you understand what I'm saying, son-in-law?”
...Could it be that Rucell's ability had been unlocked because of what had transpired between them today?
Ban Yuwon broke out in a cold sweat and looked back at Kanid.
Kanid's benevolent expression seemed to wholly affirm his thoughts.
“However, both are still clumsy. I can feel the Heart Furnace suppressing her.”
The atmosphere became somewhat serious.
Ban Yuwon sensed a certain concept raging within Kanid's body and frowned.
His contracted Constellation was growing irritated with Kanid, who was thinking and acting against its will.
“I had somewhat expected it, but... even with the Master's presence, the Constellation's power couldn't be completely suppressed, could it?”
“......”
That must be quite painful, yet there was not a hint of such a feeling in Kanid, who spoke so calmly.
He was truly a strong man.
“Rucell's return is a joyous occasion, but truthfully, I wished she hadn't come back. The Constellation's influence grows even stronger on this planet, where its contractors are so numerous. Now that Rucell has returned, that bastard will rampage, stopping at nothing to claim her. In the end, one side will have to raise the white flag for it to end.”
“We had thought the same thing, but―― she didn't come because she wanted to, and besides...”
It was clear that the Chancellor also knew this fact, yet deliberately sent them to this land.
The Chancellor's objective wasn't just Lyu Cheolmyeong.
He knew Ban Yuwon and Rucell were entangled in the Constellation's problem, and he had ordered them to confront and defeat the Constellation directly in the very land where that problem originated.
‘It's certainly not an easy task.’
A fact that both Ban Yuwon and, perhaps, Rucell recognized.
Perhaps that very fact had influenced Rucell to hasten their relationship.
Perhaps she had thought a situation might arise where she'd have to 'raise the white flag' to the Constellation, and so she had put up the greatest resistance she could.
One couldn't deny that it had been somewhat hasty.
But looking purely at the outcome.
Yes, it didn't seem so bad.
“It will be fine soon.”
Ban Yuwon replied valiantly.
“It's not just Rucell who has gained more abilities as our relationship deepened, you see.”
“......Alright, I'll trust you. But where are you going?”
“It seems I don't need to interfere here. I need to go somewhere else.”
“Somewhere else?”
“Down below.”
Ban Yuwon pointed below his feet, a wry smile on his face.
“The trees?”
“No, the ground.”
Ban Yuwon's eyes gleamed golden, reading the flow of all concepts occurring in the area in real-time and relaying that information to him.
And so, in truth, he had noticed something the moment he stepped out of the room.
“The bugs are moving.”
“――No way.”
“So, those bastards had a technique to control bugs, didn't they?”
They bombed and burned the trees, then attacked the empty spaces with Forest Worms.
Had it succeeded, it would have been a strategy to devour the Wolf Fang Tribe Village in one fell swoop, but....
Since it had all been read, it was simply a very welcome development for Ban Yuwon.
They had gathered the concepts he wished to collect all in one place, bringing him that much closer to breaking through the heavens!
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