Ch.5151. Osoftera Defense Battle (3)

I gathered John, Noel, and Sylvia.

With thorough preparations, I thought I just needed to follow what I’d done before.

That’s what I used to think.

I had barely finished preparing when I returned, but I never imagined something like this would happen in the meantime.

It was strange that they couldn’t hold off the Osoftera even with Erica and Aris present, but I didn’t have time to think about that now.

“John, Noel. I’ll cover you while you rescue everyone you can see. Move into the corners rather than open areas to avoid being surrounded.”

“Got it!!”

“Sylvia. Follow those two and clear a path just like we planned earlier. I’ll support your surroundings and provide cover fire for them.”

“Leave it to me.”

—Y-you guys…?

“Get out of there! Join us!”

“You need to escape as quickly as possible. Otherwise, it’ll be harder for us!”

We successfully extracted one team that had been isolated nearby.

‘If we’d been even a little later, they would have collapsed.’

Everyone was exhausted, but at least they were alive.

Conversely, this meant the others were likely in similar situations.

“You two, we’re breaking through again. Same method as before!”

“We can help too…”

“There’s no point in pushing beyond your limits. Don’t back us up—help those who are joining us instead. It’s not time to exert yourselves yet.”

That made two teams. We managed to extract two urgent teams that were barely holding out in the most remote areas.

Breaking through to the rest would be too burdensome with our current approach. That’s why I had something prepared.

“John! Noel! Pull now!”

“Heave-ho!!!”

“Right side’s open! Break through that way again like before!”

“Let’s go!!!”

By now, John and Noel were charging forward without hesitation, trusting each other’s backs. The two of them shouting as they ran showed not madness but newfound confidence. This kind of change was positive. Very good.

However, others couldn’t help but be disturbed.

“Ugh… what is that…?”

“Blood…? And what’s that thing…?”

“But it seems like they’re coming at us less because of that?”

Until just now, these beasts had been desperately attacking, venting their hunger, but now their attention was drawn to those two small buckets.

Thanks to this, the students who had been engaged in grueling combat caught their breath, but there wasn’t much blood and meat left to wet and fill the Osoftera’s stomachs.

We needed to resolve this quickly while we had the chance. Gather everyone together and reposition our formation.

“Everyone, form Hasirt Formation 3! Quickly, before they attack again!”

“That guy is…?”

“Isn’t that Junon?”

It was understandable that they hesitated.

Junon was known at Levrant Academy as a troublemaker who was always causing problems, along with other unflattering nicknames.

With malicious rumors and slander spread about him, there was no way he would receive kind looks.

However, in this situation, a path forward opened briefly when his voice was heard.

“No time to dawdle. If you want to live, listen to me first!!”

Some of the confused students changed their positions at the mention of Hasirt Formation 3. But…

“What’s Hasirt Formation 3…?”

“I don’t know… We never learned that.”

“I think I heard that only the lower classes learn that…?”

No matter how much I said there was no time to dawdle, it was useless. They had paid so little attention to their written subjects that they couldn’t possibly understand formations.

Only John and Noel could support his strategy, but unfortunately, unlike those two, the others were blank slates.

In the midst of this, one clever person bravely spoke up. It was someone who occasionally asked Professor Jake for help with problem-solving.

“It means changing the ratio of support and buffer roles to focus on defense at the front rather than firepower at the rear. In other words… you buffers should support the frontline.”

“What? Why should we do that?!”

“Are you crazy? You want those of us who handle mid and rear positions to directly face those things?!”

“What would you rather do?”

“S-Sylvia…”

Sylvia stepped in when she couldn’t stand the students’ rebellious attitude toward the instructions.

At times like this, applying some pressure and taking a firm approach was effective.

“If you don’t do it, you’ll die. Do you want to be torn apart and eaten?”

“Even so, how can we listen to someone like him? On what grounds?”

“That ‘nobody’ just created this opening for us. Do you want to see if there’s a chance of survival by following his instructions? Or would you rather twist the formation your way and get us all killed?”

“That’s…”

“I think you understand by now. I’m betting on any chance to survive. So if you act recklessly, I won’t stand by quietly.”

They knew. Right now, the beasts’ eyes were on those buckets, but what would be next? The next prey would naturally be humans.

Chilled by Sylvia’s sharp rebuke, they finally started listening.

It was just as he had predicted.

-‘How about it, Sylvia? Can you do it?’

-‘If that’s what you need… I’ll talk to the others like you asked.’

-‘Being gentle won’t work. You need to establish a clear sense of urgency. You have to be a bit harsh.’

When even one person refuses to follow instructions in a desperate situation, an organization can easily fall apart.

At that point, they’re no longer comrades but liabilities.

That’s why Junon had already briefed Sylvia, anticipating that some students might resist.

Thanks to this, the formation remained intact, and everyone was able to unite under a single opinion. Even if they weren’t familiar with their roles, they accepted them willingly.

John and Noel received their support, and things naturally began to ease up.

“Wait, hold on! You’re moving too quickly…!”

People in crisis often make such mistakes. In life-or-death situations, these errors become even more frequent.

Humans are, after all, creatures swayed by emotions.

However, as mentioned earlier, when there’s some breathing room, such incidents can be handled.

-Clang!

“Huh?”

A unique magic suitable for blocking attacks made it easy to cover and support someone.

“Don’t stop! I’ll support you, so keep opening a path and get out.”

“Junon…? Why should I listen to you…!”

“Instead of hesitating when you see me, just get out, you idiot. If you repeat the same mistake, we’ll all die next time. Do you want to die like a dog?”

“…”

Threats and pressure were always effective. Even while cursing, they realized they had to listen. Despite their resentful looks, they followed his instructions.

Though they might give him unpleasant glares, he didn’t care. For him to survive, the students here needed to survive too.

One by one, isolated teams escaped, and even teams surrounded by Osoftera managed to get out with injuries but no fatalities.

This was a sufficient outcome.

From this point on, they seemed to regain their senses and began caring for each other to build trust among their comrades.

—We need support over here!

—Junon. Should we go in now?

“This side isn’t clear yet. Hold for one more turn!”

—We’ve moved to the right! We’ve broken through the encirclement on that team too!

—Can we go in now?

“Okay. Break through as planned. Defensive frontliners over there! Just focus on breaking through the front and getting out! Don’t worry about the flanks!”

From then on, everyone followed Junon’s instructions, successfully rescuing everyone. The scattered students were able to regroup.

It was time to play the final card.

“John, Noel!”

“Got it!!”

I entrusted John and Noel with chunks of meat to use as bait for the beasts. To buy a moment of time. But I had asked them for one more thing.

“Frontliners, raise your shields! Everyone else, close your eyes!!”

-Screech!!!

The crudely handcrafted light source emitted a blinding flash forward. Like a flashbang going off, the light enveloped everyone’s vision.

After the blinding light that made foreheads tingle passed quickly, the beasts lost their vision and began to flounder.

“Maintain Hasirt Formation 3. We’re heading to Alcaide Hall! Take all the injured with you! We have about 10 seconds!”

All that remained was to endure.

Having used up all the cards prepared to rescue the isolated and surrounded groups and create openings, it was time to push through with sheer physical effort.

***

“Is everyone inside?!”

—Confirmed! No one’s left outside!

Good. Now with six teams forming one unit, we could rotate in 5-minute shifts to hold them off.

The students who entered Alcaide Hall focused on repelling and blocking the Osoftera at the narrow entrance.

“We just need to buy time. Take turns holding them off until support arrives. Six teams will form one unit and rotate in 5-minute shifts.”

No one objected to him anymore.

They must have realized that this situation was much more manageable.

Fighting Osoftera that jumped and flew at them in open ground was far more difficult than restricting the beasts’ attack range at a building entrance, which gave them more breathing room.

Junon urged them once more, hoping to hold out until support arrived, and the remaining students maintained their vigilance without doubt.

‘All that’s left is to report.’

In a siege, the most important thing is to quickly predict the current state and what will happen in the future.

But… the number of students is much smaller. It’s clearly about 2/3 of the number from before the regression.

I need to find out what happened.

“Finally feeling like we might survive… Oh? It’s Junon?”

Fortunately, someone who could answer how the situation had unfolded was catching their breath in front of him.

“Hena. I have questions, so answer me. It’s urgent, so keep it brief.”

.

.

.

“What? There were deserters?”

“Yeah. While we were struggling to hold out, they said they were going to find their own way to survive and left in a group for somewhere else!”

After getting a rough overview of the situation from Hena, I was speechless.

Certainly, such people emerge in crisis situations, but not to this extent.

‘I thought they would follow Aris’s command without question since I wasn’t here.’

Anyway, what had already happened couldn’t be changed.

As I continued to probe into the process, things made even less sense.

“What? Kenick Formation 6?”

“I think so. I don’t know much, but… I remember we stayed in this formation without changing to Kenick Formation 6.”

Why?

Why use Kenick Formation 6?

Back then, Aris definitely used this formation. Kenick Formation 6 is a stable, orthodox formation primarily used by regular armies and expeditionary forces.

It’s the most commonly used formation when teams face beasts.

Arranged with frontliners, support, buffers, mid-range, and rear positions from the front, it’s generally used when facing most beasts.

That’s why I could assert that this formation was wrong.

This formation is absolutely incorrect when facing numbers that the frontline cannot handle.

I needed to find out why they had done this, and I urgently needed Aris and Erica’s help in this situation.

“Hena, where are Aris and Erica?”

“Those two…”

What could have happened to cause this reaction?

As Junon tilted his head in confusion, Hena, who had been hesitant to answer, pointed in a direction.

“…!”

The two of them were collapsed, covered in blood.

***

Aris. Erica.

As bona fide members of Tembris, they were capable individuals who didn’t fall short compared to Goden or Michelle.

Aris was excellent both as a solo rear position who attacked by blooming lotus flowers and as a mid-range fighter who created openings for Michelle’s magic to be effective.

The title “Lotus Aris” wasn’t given for nothing.

The same went for Erica. As a healing mage, she belonged to the highest tier of buffers, which spoke for itself.

Moreover, she even compensated for her slightly lacking firepower by developing her unique magic that would later bloom.

These two were party members who survived until the end, even when the empire was driven to the brink in the most dire situations.

So the fact that these two were collapsed was far too serious a deviation from expectations.

“The bleeding…!”

I remember Erica had been scratched by an Osoftera and bled back then.

But now it was different. Erica’s abdomen had been completely pierced, and blood that had refluxed was flowing out of her mouth.

Just looking at the amount of blood that had even soaked Aris’s hair, I knew. This wasn’t a light wound, but a critical injury that threatened her life.

I gathered whatever cloth was left in the building and applied emergency treatment.

“Explain what happened.”

“Well…”

After hearing from someone who was here with Aris, I couldn’t help but curse.

“Those fucking idiots…!”

They had been retreating multiple times to buy time, but in the end, some of them deserted again.

In a situation where they needed to cooperate and hold out until support arrived, what? Battlefield desertion?

It was giving me a headache.

‘And the situation isn’t good either.’

The situation was worse than before the regression.

Students in rear and mid-range positions had squeezed out their magical power from the start, so the firepower positions were already depleted.

On top of that, they had forcibly learned and used elemental magic that didn’t suit them, failing to fulfill their roles.

Outside were the swarming numbers of beasts, and inside was the inefficient use of magical power.

Moreover, Aris’s absence was critical—she had experience as a mercenary in various positions across different teams.

I thought they would listen to and follow Aris’s words, but some of those unusable humans had deserted.

Furthermore, quite a number had joined that group. Worst of all was the condition of Aris and Erica, who were crucial for buying time.

The current fighting strength was significantly lower than before.

“Keep reporting the situation. How many teams are left?”

“Two teams on this side. They’re recovering, but not yet!”

Not much left.

We succeeded in buying as much time as possible by rotating with the remaining personnel, but the Osoftera’s hunger would only grow more intense.

Like dogs chasing chickens, drooling in front of prey they couldn’t reach, any living creature would react the same way.

They would go mad. It meant they would charge with their eyes fixed only on their target.

-Screech! Screech!!!

“Ah, it’s getting harder to hold them back than before!”

“Support! Bind this one more tightly!”

“We can’t either! Our magic is…”

“How much longer until casting?”

“We just fired! We need to wait a bit longer!”

Although I had made that decision to gain some breathing room, we were out of slack too.

I knew I was pushing my body too hard, but after fighting several more times, both my magic and physical strength were depleted.

‘Erica…’

She was barely hanging on after just stopping the bleeding.

They said she was receiving regenerative magic and pain-relief magic, but she was still unconscious.

They said her pulse was barely detectable but continuing to weaken, so my anxiety wouldn’t subside.

What about Aris? It was the same story.

She had overexerted herself even before those idiots deserted, suffering from mana exhaustion, and hadn’t woken up since collapsing.

At the entrance, we were on the verge of being pushed back. The students desperately facing the rampaging beasts were giving their all, but it was too much for their numbers.

I had wanted to avoid using it if possible, but I had no choice.

“W-what’s happening…? The beasts…”

“They can’t approach…?”

I had erected a massive barrier preventing the beasts from approaching.

“Junon…”

As if recognizing it, Sylvia turned her head and watched me with worried eyes. Of course. She knew I was the owner of this magic.

“Conserve your strength first. I don’t know how long I can hold this. Gather as many able-bodied people as possible and form one more team.”

To survive, I had no choice but to borrow the power of Blushuar Arc.