Chapter 243
Reality
"You all still have plenty of time. There’s no enemy here right now, so if you want to return to the city, you can go. I don’t intend to hold you here. However...you will have to face the consequences that follow."
"The reason I asked Second Young Lord to gather everyone is because I believe that being together, we can at least continue the mission. And if something does happen, we can help each other in the fight. If we can hold out long enough for the soldiers to come and assist us, we might survive."
"In fact, I didn’t want to alarm you all with unconfirmed news, but I thought that if Eldest Young Lord’s information is correct, you all would be “dead” by now without being able to do anything. I just didn’t want my fellow institute mates to face such danger. That’s all..."
Ellie wore a sorrowful expression she had never shown before. Aman almost burst out laughing upon seeing her like this; he felt Ellie was putting on an act, and indeed she was.
The girl’s words made the listeners feel indebted. Earlier, they had blamed Ellie for not informing them sooner, thinking she should have let them run back to the city instead of gathering them at the camp with the dangerous Prince Jason, the target of the enemy. But when Ellie said...they should have died already, it made everyone realize how lucky they were to know this in advance. Still...help was help, and it didn’t mean that they’d be so grateful for Ellie till they forgot all their fears.
“But...is it possible? Eldest Young Lord’s intelligence should be accurate. So, the Rhea Kingdom must be planning exactly as he said,” one student said uncertainly.
“Y-Yeah, it’s news from Eldest Young Lord. So, it must be true. Let’s prepare to head back to the city. At least we’ll be safer there,” they nodded at each other, but none moved.
Ellie sighed softly, appearing as if she too had no more words to say.
“If you decide to leave, I wish you a safe journey. But I implore you one thing...do not inform the authorities of Eldest Young Lord’s suspicions. If something goes wrong, he will be punished for spreading his suspicions. And if it turns out not to be true, he will surely face severe punishment because his unconfirmed news cause everyone to abandon their mission and disrupt the war efforts. If Ares Kingdom suffers because of this, know that it wasn’t Eldest Young Lord’s fault.”
“You chose to abandon the mission on your own. And...if you think Eldest Young Lord should have gotten solid information, shouldn’t you trust the authorities more? Did anyone show any concerns when you submitted the missions earlier? Did anyone warn you of impending danger?”
“I’m not sure whether Eldest Young Lord’s news or the palace’s information is more reliable,” Ellie pointed out. This left the students speechless.
They all fell silent, realizing the truth in Ellie’s words.
Ellie’s words didn’t mean she didn’t trust Eldest Young Lord Owen’s information. It was because she believed in it that she began to act this way. However, everyone had received their missions from the palace. Therefore, the authority to cancel the mission lay with the palace, not with them acting on unverified information from Eldest Young Lord Owen.
Such actions would undoubtedly have severe consequences. If the course of the war changed because they disobeyed orders and chose to believe unconfirmed news, it wouldn’t just be Lord Owen who was punished; they would also have to bear the responsibility.
Surely, the Setter family would have another solution. They wouldn’t let the wonderful eldest young lord face death. Even the kingdom might not let him die. They might demand a city or something else from him. But what about the students who chose to believe someone else over military orders? What would be their fate?
That’s why all the students who were prepared to save themselves secretly swallowed hard. Even though Ellie had asked them not to mention Eldest Young Lord Owen’s name to the authorities, would everyone really keep it a secret? They had a mission to complete, and if they failed, they would be punished. To avoid this, they would definitely cite Eldest Young Lord Owen’s name.
But now, after Ellie’s warning, the decision to believe "Eldest Young Lord Owen" or the "orders of the authorities" was theirs alone. Therefore, they would also have to take responsibility for this decision.
“N-No! What should we do then? If we go back like this, we’ll definitely be punished.”
“Exactly. Prince Jason, do you have any news from the palace? Have there been any orders to recall the students to the city?”
“This is a serious situation! What should we do? Why hasn’t the authorities recalled all the students? Don’t they know there’s danger?”
The students were frantic, all looking to Prince Jason for answers, as he was closest to the soldiers.
Jason frowned deeply. He couldn’t believe that the eldest young lord of the Setter family knew something the kingdom’s soldiers didn’t! What kind of anomaly was this!?
He glanced at Ellie and sensed something amiss. Since their last trip to the city to deliver their mission, she had been asking if the soldiers had had any contact with him and which noble was involved. And something anomaly he sensed was...after that week, she never mentioned it again!
Could something strange have happened since then?!!
“The soldiers haven’t sent any news.” Prince Jason waved his hand. Normally, he should trust his soldiers over the despicable nobles he despised. However, his current words were filled with uncertainty.
No one would know the truth until the situation unfolded!
“So...Your Highness, will you go to the city to investigate this tomorrow?”
“Oh, right! If Your Highness asks the soldiers to investigate...maybe we can get back to the city in time.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Our lives... we leave them in your hands,” they said hopefully.
Jason also felt uneasy about this situation. He sensed that if he asked the soldiers in the city, he would receive the same answers he already knew. Nonetheless...to ease everyone’s worries, he agreed to go and question the soldiers in the city.
Hearing Prince Jason agree, everyone was immensely relieved. They relaxed somewhat, feeling that if the soldiers sensed something was amiss, they would investigate urgently. If Eldest Young Lord Owen’s warning was true, a recall to the city would come soon. After all, the soldiers would need to protect Prince Jason. Especially if the Rhea Kingdom’s objective was as malicious as suggested, they wouldn’t leave an important figure exposed to danger in the forest.
The only unfortunate thing was...that evening, they still had hope. But just a few hours later, they would be jolted awake from their pleasant dreams...
Clang! Clang!! Clang!!
The alarm blared, startling everyone in the camp awake. A single alarm meant a low-level beast had entered, something the watchmen could likely handle, especially with the stratagems surrounding the camp. It provided a sense of security against unforeseen dangers.
A second alarm indicated a more dangerous beast or an unmanageable situation. Those who had combat abilities needed to rise and assist in handling the threat. But the third alarm, newly implemented by Ellie’s group and the stratagem branch students, signaled something no one wanted to hear. It was the signal to announce the arrival of Rhea Kingdom forces!!
“N-No, this can’t be true!”
“The third alarm! Something’s definitely wrong. The prince was going to investigate this tomorrow. So...this shouldn’t be—shouldn’t be happening now!”
“Oh God, help us. We can’t handle this!”
“Are the Rhea Kingdom forces attacking??” Many people rushed out of their tents, faces filled with panic. Unlike them, Ellie hadn’t slept at all. When the first alarm sounded, she was already preparing to leave her tent.
Aman was the same. The girl’s demeanor had made him uneasy, so he had been ready for a fight since after dinner, keeping his weapons and potions close by.
Outside Aman’s camp, the poison users of the Seven Night Poison group were slightly surprised. Hadn’t they already used poison smoke above the wind to incapacitate part of the camp? Though a few might have survived by luck, they expected less than half to remain.
So, what exactly was this unfolding situation?!!
"Hmm? Didn’t you say your poison was potent? Why are so many students emerging from their tents?" The Rhea Kingdom’s military leader asked angrily.
He hadn’t wanted to go to war with the Ares Kingdom from the beginning. They knew well the strength of the hunters from Ares. However, the Rhea Kingdom no longer had the autonomy it once did. Since the Seven Night Poison group got involved, they had taken over all decision-making power. When they declared they wanted war and claimed they were prepared to win, the emperor had no choice but to comply.
But now...the very poison they were confident in couldn’t even incapacitate the students? If this was the case, the outcome of future battles was already clear. If the Rhea Kingdom were to lose, the ones who would suffer would be the citizens, not these self-proclaimed skilled parasites!
“How would I know? Or perhaps they were already prepared for us? Did you blow our cover? Didn’t you say you had contacts with the Ares Kingdom’s nobles? Then now...are we the ones who fell into their trap?” The poison user snapped back. His poison hadn’t lost its effectiveness, so the only explanation was that this small camp was prepared for them.
“Impossible. That noble is very greedy. Besides, they checked that only students were in this camp, and the prince is here too. Are you telling me your poison can’t even defeat...a bunch of students?”
“Oh...this is the second time I’ve heard you belittle me. Would you like to see just how effective my poison is?”
“You!”
“Hah! If you’re too scared, don’t mouth off. So, you brought a thousand soldiers. They should be able to handle a few students, right? Then you won’t need my poison. Show me what your soldiers can do.”
“Fine. Just watch.”
It was evident that before the battle even began, they were already arguing among themselves. Such superficial cooperation was easy to disrupt. No wonder the Fourth Night Unit Leader, after being provoked, angrily ordered his men to move, causing internal strife.
"Alright! Even if the poison didn’t work, with a thousand skilled soldiers, I believe we will complete the mission. The only ones to watch out for are the two from the Setter family. The rest are just ants...Ah!!"
Before he could finish, a red line appeared on his neck, and his words were replaced by a spray of blood. This sudden attack shocked all the soldiers.
"W-What happened? What’s happening?!!"
"There are enemies around! Enemies...Argh!!" The soldiers shouted in panic, as some of them were attacked in the same way their leader had been.
The chaos rendered the thousand-strong army unable to move in an orderly manner. Even within the students’ camp, they sensed the unusual situation. They looked at each other in surprise, except for Nadia and the students who had previously set up the disposable stratagems.
Because it was a level 1-star stratagem, its effectiveness wasn’t very high. However, it was still valuable enough to handle some soldiers.
This stratagem was something Ellie had painstakingly created. If not for the little Purple Mushroom’s help in reducing the construction time...it would have taken months to complete.
Not knowing where the enemy would come from, she had to set traps all around. This stratagem was just the first one, attacking while the enemy was still unprepared. But it had its limitations—it would collapse immediately after use, meaning it could only reduce the enemy’s numbers in the initial strike.
The reason why Ellie had set up the stratagem behind the camp was to launch a surprise attack from the rear, causing confusion among the enemy. This tactic would buy them some time until the enemy realized it was a stratagem.
“There!! There are wind blades coming from the stratagem. They’ve set up stratagems around the camp!!” one soldier shouted, signaling the end of the surprise attack.
Even so...those stratagems were just the beginning of "hell" for them.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter