Chapter 164: Good Dog, Bad Dog (1)

Explosion sound.

A proof of cruel destruction and the most easily recognizable symbol of fear.

There can be destruction without explosion, but there can never be an explosion without destruction.

The fact that such a huge noise has been heard means that something must have gone wrong somewhere.

But this is Anatolia.

A place that can be called the safest in the world.

What could possibly go wrong in a place surrounded by a barrier set by the great wizard?

‘No, we can assess the situation later. For now, evacuating the VIPs is the priority!’

Once a famous mercenary, the swordsmanship teacher, Brad Alger, made an immediate decision, just like the veteran he was.

He turned toward the murmuring crowd and shouted.

“Everyone, please remain calm, remain calm!! Please focus on me for a moment! I regret to inform you that a somewhat unexpected situation has occurred.

To properly assess and respond to this, we will need everyone’s cooperation.

Please do not take any sudden actions and stay in your seats, following the guidance of the staff.

I repeat, stay in your seats and follow the staff’s guidance. Anatolia guarantees your safety 100%.

There is no need for concern.”

As Brad finished speaking, he turned toward Mana and spoke.

“Principal, could you stay here and deploy a protective shield? That would be the most reassuring way to calm the visitors.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Mana nodded and raised her staff.

At the same time, she gave a small signal toward Sion with a glance.

Sion nodded back and strapped on Exia.

While the principal was casting a spell, Brad finally turned to Sally and said,”Sally, you’re coming with me. We need to go check the situation and respond accordingly.

You still have enough magic, right?”

“…..Yes!”

Actually, Sally’s magic was halved after using Greater Teleportation twice earlier to buy a camera, but she couldn’t just say that in this situation.

It felt like she would be scorned alongside her teacher if she did.

Well, with the remaining magic, she could still handle one battle, so it didn’t matter much.

“Alright. Then everyone, make sure to follow closely!”

After organizing the crowd, Brad quickly rushed toward the scene.

His large body moved with surprisingly nimble movements.

Behind him, Sally and the other staff members hurried to follow.

Duke Granfill, watching them from afar, licked his lips secretly.

“Ah, so they plan to enjoy themselves without sharing the fun. If it’s a fight, I’d like to join-“

“Don’t do anything foolish, Zigma.”

Gasantius sighed and grabbed him from behind.

“I hope you understand the weight of your position.

Do you know how far the aftermath could spread if something happens?”

“Of course I know. I was just joking, heh heh heh.”

Zigma chuckled and stroked his beard.

“Well, whatever the situation is, I don’t think there will be any loss of life.

Just look at the strength gathered here: former Demon Lord Legion Commander, Great Wizards, countless top-tier knights…

And if necessary, we even have the Hero, so there’s nothing to worry about…”

While saying this and scanning his surroundings, Zigma suddenly realized something and his eyes widened.

The Hero, Sion, was nowhere to be seen.

“Wait, sis!! Where are you going?!”

At that moment, Isabella’s shout echoed from far away.

Looking back, the Hero was running toward the forest where the explosion had occurred, with the holy sword on her back.

She briefly turned around, waved her hand toward Isabella, and shouted.

“I’m just going to check the situation quickly! Princess, please stay right where you are!

Prince, please look after the princess!”

“Sis?!?!!”

Isabella tried to run after Sion, but Martin, who had been right behind her, grabbed her tightly and stopped her.

She struggled with all her might and shouted.

“Let go, brother!!! I want to go too!!!”

“Don’t be ridiculous! What do you think you’re doing? It’s dangerous! Stay here!”

“It’s just as dangerous for you too! I’m staying right next to you!”

“Are you the same as the Hero?

With your skills, you’d only be a hindrance, so stay put!”

“Ughhh…!”

Isabella bit her lip in frustration.

Small tears appeared in her eyes.

Tears mixed with helplessness and despair.

Meanwhile, Dorothy, who had been observing everything from a distance, suddenly spoke as if she realized something.

“Wait. I’m not sure what’s going on, but Sion’s running toward the noise, right?”

“It looks like it.”

“Oh no!”

She let out a short sigh, realizing she was one step behind.

“This is no time to be standing around! We need to follow them quickly! Come on!”

“Huh? Why should we bother? The people who went ahead will handle it.”

“Are you stupid?! If we don’t act, the Hero will solve the problem!

All the spotlight will be on them!”

Dorothy yelled at her attendant, as if she couldn’t believe they didn’t understand.

“We can’t let that happen!

The difference in popularity is already huge, and we can’t let it grow even more!

Follow me! I don’t know what’s going on, but we’re going to get our share of the spotlight!”

“Hmm, this is annoying…”

Philia muttered in a disgruntled tone, but despite that, she didn’t complain any further and quietly ran after Dorothy.

Thus, the two asymmetrical powerhouses mixed in with the students and rushed toward the sound that had just occurred…

If we had to pick the most coveted job at the private Anatolia Academy, it would definitely be “guard.”

No matter how powerful Mana or the other staff members were, they had separate duties, so they couldn’t fully focus on security.

Therefore, specialized personnel to handle security were essential.

Especially since this place gathered the sons and daughters of noble families from all over the world, security couldn’t be neglected.

However, this was only in name.

In reality, the security at Anatolia had almost nothing to do.

The main reason was the barrier Mana had cast.

The barrier, created by the legendary grand mage, had never allowed any external intrusion since the founding of Anatolia (there was one recent case, but that was actually a lie told by Sien, so it doesn’t count).

Moreover, there was no significant merit in breaking through such strong security to infiltrate the school.

Ultimately, Anatolia was just a place of education and didn’t hold any great strategic importance.

In the case of trying to assassinate a successor, it would be easier to just take out the king directly rather than attacking the prince here.

Or they could wait for the prince to go out to town on the weekend and attack then.

Because of this, the position of guard at Anatolia was seen as a “lazy job.”

During the day, they stayed at the main gate’s guard post to welcome visitors, and at night, they patrolled the whole school with lanterns.

Just by doing that, they would receive a steady salary without any danger.

It was the best choice for retired mercenaries or people with no other skills, living off a pension and wasting their life away.

That was the reality until today.

“What was that loud noise just now?”

“Did you hear that too, Parker? It came from the forest, right?”

“Could it have been an alchemy experiment being done secretly on the outskirts? But everyone, teachers and students alike, should be at the sports festival right now…”

The guards patrolling the outskirts of the school near the forest exchanged opinions, murmuring about the sudden loud noise.

There were many speculations, but there was one conclusion they all reached. As guards, this was an inevitable conclusion.

“Well, we’ll have to go check it out, right?”

“Yeah, right. Ugh, why did it have to happen just before our shift change?”

One of the young soldiers spat on the ground, showing clear signs of annoyance.

Even at this point, they were not tense. Their belief in Mana’s barrier was that strong.

The chance of an intruder was almost nonexistent. In the past 500 years, no one had breached Anatolia’s defenses, and no one would in the future.

It was most likely just someone playing a prank. None of them doubted this.

That was until they encountered something strange as they entered the forest.

“Huh?”

The first to notice something odd was Parker, a man in his mid-40s.

Though he had heard the loud noise, he had been yawning lazily and hadn’t been particularly alert.

However, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and quickly looked around.

“Hey, didn’t something just pass by nearby?”

“What? What do you mean by something?”

“No, I felt like something brushed past me really quickly…”

But no matter how much he looked around, there was nothing near him. Only the trees, swaying in the wind, made eerie sounds in the dark.

The young soldier next to him chuckled and nudged Parker’s side.

“Ha, this old guy again. Do you think I’m going to fall for that? I’m not scared anymore.”

“………….”

“Parker?”

Despite his colleague’s teasing, Parker didn’t look back.

He stared silently into the darkness, beads of cold sweat forming on his brow under his helmet.

He swallowed hard and said, “Hey, Johnny.”

“Yeah?”

“You guys go back to the school quickly and get someone who can help, whether it’s the headmaster or a teacher.”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. Suddenly, something shot out from the darkness and rushed toward him.

Whooosh!

“Ahhh?!”

In the face of the surprise attack, the middle-aged guard instinctively raised his halberd to defend himself.

This was a reflex built from over 20 years of experience on the battlefield.

However, his actions had no effect on the opponent that had emerged.

Whoosh—

“!?!”

To their surprise, the attacker charged right through the raised halberd as if it was nothing, like a ghost.

It grabbed Parker’s right arm, the one holding the weapon, and tore it off as it passed by.

Crack!!

“Ugh, aaahh?!”

Parker screamed as his arm was torn off. Blood spurted from the gaping wound.

The shocking scene made the other two guards, who had been half skeptical until then, widen their eyes in shock.

“P-Parker?! Are you okay?!”

“What was that?! How did it… pass through plate mail like that?!”

They were shocked not just because their colleague had lost his arm, but because he had lost it while still in his armor.

The guards at Anatolia, though they had little to do, were still regular soldiers and equipped with top-level gear.

The full plate mail they wore was one of the most advanced armors, normally only worn by knights, something they could never afford on their own.

It was armor made of metal that covered the entire body, offering absolute defense.

Yet, their opponent had shattered that expensive armor like it was nothing.

There was no trickery involved. The twisted shoulder plate on Parker’s armor proved that it was pure physical force.

If this was the reality, the strength of their opponent was on a level that made them unable to contend, no matter what.

“W-Who… the hell…”

The three of them simultaneously turned to look toward the direction the attacker had gone, trying to identify their assailant.

And at the same time, their eyes went wide in shock.

“T-That’s…!”

A huge, floating wolf, larger than the combined size of the three of them, was staring them down.

It was the culprit who had breached the barrier that had never been broken in 500 years.

It had casually passed through Parker’s raised halberd, and in turn, had torn off his arm.

Now, with the severed limb still in its mouth, the enormous wolf was glaring at them.