Ch.44044. Ian Tigris Linebarrel

The Resistance suppression operation ended successfully. Most of the Resistance members were killed, and some were captured.

However, despite Gilbert’s valiant efforts, they ultimately failed to capture the key figure, the Resistance chairman. Though they combed through the entire Banneret Forest meticulously, he had already vanished without a trace.

While missing the key figure was painful, it was quite encouraging that they had completely wiped out the Resistance without any casualties among the suppression forces. The only injuries in the suppression force were a few minor wounds.

In that respect, no matter what they called themselves, it was undeniable that the Resistance was ultimately untrained irregular forces. The suppression force consisted of talented individuals from the Demeia Academy—the best the Empire had to offer—and the Imperial Knights, so even if the Resistance had found giant soldiers in ancient ruins, the gap in capability was too wide.

Moreover, the suppression force had Briana and Seraphina. The combination of Seraphina’s command, known as a genius, and Briana’s battlefield experience was beyond what the irregular Resistance forces could handle.

But if one had to name the person who showed the most outstanding performance, it was undoubtedly Gilbert. With CT-777’s support, Gilbert literally flew across the battlefield. Particularly impressive was how he took down five giant soldiers in one go while trying to capture the Resistance chairman, and the way he cut through a giant soldier’s legs was nothing short of artistic mastery.

It was so impressive that even some of the Imperial Knights who came as reinforcements asked Seraphina about Gilbert’s identity. His performance was that impressive and extraordinary.

Meanwhile, the Empire rewarded the suppression force for their early elimination of the Resistance. Though not as extraordinary as the knighthood Gilbert had received, the rewards were satisfactory for everyone.

Demeia Academy also awarded honor badges to the cadets who participated in the suppression force while still students. These were given to recognize their contribution to enhancing the academy’s prestige. The cadets who participated in the suppression force beamed with smiles at this unexpected shower of rewards.

However, Gilbert, who had achieved great merit in the Resistance suppression, did not look pleased. While receiving rewards was welcome from his perspective, he was troubled by the fact that the Resistance chairman had changed.

During the interrogation of captured Resistance members, they learned that the Resistance chairman was a man called Vandyke. This information had been shared with all participants in the suppression operation, but Gilbert couldn’t help but freeze when he first heard the name Vandyke.

The Resistance chairman he knew was Brecht. Despite having played Tactical Combat for so long, he had never once seen the name Vandyke. During the suppression operation, he had wondered if Brecht had simply made the realistic choice to flee, but in reality, a completely different person had been sitting in the chairman’s seat.

According to the interrogation information, Brecht and a man named Vandyke had founded the Resistance together, and Vandyke became chairman on Brecht’s recommendation. Brecht had continued Resistance activities afterward until he fell into an Imperial army trap and lost his life.

Gilbert sighed as he organized the interrogation details in his mind. He felt somewhat frustrated as things increasingly diverged from the game. His greatest weapon was his knowledge of this world. Even the Great Sage Horizon couldn’t know the knowledge that existed in his head.

He had thought that if he used this knowledge appropriately at the right time, he could survive well in this brutal world, but he felt anxious as things started to go wrong from the beginning.

But soon he shook his head and shook off the negative emotions.

Hadn’t he resolved from the start to use the information he knew merely as reference?

He shouldn’t assume that game knowledge was absolutely correct. That could lead to narrow-mindedness and unnecessary stubbornness.

Alright. So the next issue.

Now it was time to consider where the Resistance leader had disappeared to. The fact that he had managed to slip through the search net and detection magic spread throughout Banneret was enough to raise alarm.

Despite the involvement of even the Imperial Knights, they had lost the core figure of the Resistance. It was remarkable how he had evaded both the search magic and the search party’s net.

Gilbert suspected there might have been an external helper.

Or perhaps an internal one.

The thought suddenly occurred to him. Given the level of the suppression force, evading search magic or the search party’s net was by no means an easy task. Even Gilbert, a veteran of Tactical Combat, couldn’t easily accomplish this.

The only reason he didn’t call it impossible was because his physical abilities were at a superhuman level. When he checked after the entrance mock battle, his physical ability score was 90. Even decent first-class knights typically had physical ability scores below 90, and a swordsman like Briana was in the mid to high 90s.

Moreover, with the honor badges he had recently received in bulk and the early academy buffs from continuous training, his physical ability score had risen to 91, which might make it possible to break through this encirclement and escape.

So did this Vandyke, the Resistance chairman, have abilities of that caliber?

In truth, pondering this wasn’t particularly meaningful. It could be possible or impossible in reality.

What was more important was determining whether he had broken through the escape route with the help of an external helper or an internal one. If there was an external or internal helper, it meant that the Resistance had not been completely eliminated.

Especially if it was an internal helper, things would become even more complicated.

‘This is giving me a headache.’

He set up and compared various hypotheses, but they were just that—hypotheses. There was no certainty whether it was an external helper, an internal helper, or a self-escape.

In the end, all he could do was continue training as he had been doing and proceed with the upcoming main story. Whether it was an internal or external helper, they were most likely tied to the main story. That would be the variable, but he was used to responding to variables.

It was also what he was confident in.

With a lighter heart, Gilbert roughly gathered the parchments he had been organizing and put them in a drawer. Speaking of which, it seemed like he should start today’s training.

***

Ian was thinking about Gilbert, who had once again outshone him. It wasn’t the same way of expressing anger as before. Rather, it was like a cold flame burning inside.

‘Hmm, that’s a good expression.’

Ian wrote down “anger like a cold flame burning inside” on a parchment. It was for compiling quotes he could use someday when he stepped into the spotlight as the protagonist.

A protagonist needed to have dignity in his words and actions. So he often wrote down expressions he thought were cool on parchment, referenced them for appropriate situations, and practiced them repeatedly.

He had prepared various quotes for this suppression operation as well.

“Show no mercy to the enemy. That is merely our hypocrisy.”

“Fear death. Nothing is less honorable than dying without protecting what you should.”

“I shall be the sharpest spear of the suppression force. All troops, follow me.”

He had prepared dozens of variations, but as a mere non-commissioned officer, he had been reduced to following Gilbert’s orders. It was so humiliating that his face turned red with shame, but he had no choice but to endure it.

‘Though the path of a hero involves crouching low… he’s becoming increasingly irritating.’

He acknowledged that Gilbert was his rival and humbly accepted that this was a trial imposed on Ian the hero. However, being human, Ian didn’t want to endure this time of perseverance forever.

He disliked how Gilbert continued to look like the protagonist, and he naturally felt that it was time for him to shine.

Like a Hasteltia bud that has been closed for a long time and then blooms fully with the morning sunlight.

‘I should write this down too.’

After writing down another good expression on the parchment, he could immediately imagine when to use these words.

The long-standing tradition of Demeia Academy: the competition between cadets.

It was starting next week.

The storyline was perfect.

He, who had quietly observed his rival’s growth and endured until now, would fully bloom like a flower with the morning sunlight of the competition, taking first place.

Ian Tigris Linebarrel, blooming like a Hasteltia.

What a sweet-sounding phrase.

With that one victory, he could blow away all the adversity and hardship he had endured.

Grinning, he roughly gathered the parchment he had been scribbling on and put it in a drawer. Speaking of which, it seemed like he should start today’s training.