Ch.86Chapter 86: Eradicating the Criminal Organization (6)

Valt first contacted Lisa, who was coming this way, and had her scout for a good place where friends could gather.

Lisa strangely had a talent for hiding anywhere.

It was like she gave off the impression of being a harmless part of nature. Thanks to that, she could blend in anywhere without raising suspicion and gather plenty of information.

And at night, he had Lilith, who was practically the strongest among them, monitor the place where the four crime organization leaders had gathered.

Darkness is the essence and home ground of vampires.

Fighting vampires in darkness requires great courage, and it’s not even easy to detect them in the first place.

Lilith wouldn’t be discovered, and if anything unusual happened, she would naturally contact Valt and his friends immediately.

In preparation for such situations, he had even given Lilith some of his blood, so if she decided to escape, she could easily get away.

Not long after, everyone except Solfin, Robin, and Lilith began gathering at the meeting point Lisa had mentioned.

Naturally, since Lisa had found the location, she and Victor were the first to arrive, followed by Valt and Arias.

Valt, with nimble and quiet movements that didn’t match his size, spotted Lisa waving her hand from a distance.

“Are we the first ones here?”

Lisa answered with a bright face.

“Yes! But is it true? Did you completely annihilate the Butcher’s organization?”

Instead of answering, Valt placed the Butcher he had been carrying down on the ground.

Thud-

Lisa looked amazed at the sight.

“Wow… really? You single-handedly destroyed one of the Big Five organizations…?”

“It’s nothing. These guys at the headquarters can’t be the entire organization, and their main forces must be spread out elsewhere too.”

Valt’s words were true.

Besides, even if the Butcher disappeared right now, there were many of his subordinates who would aim for his position.

Even though the headquarters was destroyed, the organization wouldn’t disappear completely, but it was true that they had been weakened.

Valt thought it would be better to leave the rest to the city guard rather than handle it himself.

“Arias, are you hurt anywhere?”

Seeing Lisa, Arias finally answered with a slightly brighter expression.

“N-no. I’m fine. I was just hiding, that’s all.”

Lisa approached Arias and whispered in her ear.

“So? Any progress? A man charging ruthlessly toward enemies! And his pretty girlfriend supporting him! Doesn’t that paint a picture?”

Arias could only sigh at Lisa’s ridiculous question.

“Sigh… I wish.”

While Valt was smashing the Butcher’s gang, Arias had been truly terrified.

Elves are a race that loves forests and peace.

Naturally, they don’t have many opportunities to witness such brutal scenes.

Already living under the protection of the World Tree in the Great Forest, they don’t experience war often.

In fact, there’s even a tradition that says elves chose the bow as their main weapon because it’s difficult for them to approach enemies directly and pierce or cut them with swords and spears.

But seeing people flying, exploding, and being torn into thousands of pieces with just one spell from Valt was a difficult sight to witness.

It made her wonder if this was why barbarians and elves didn’t get along.

Victor also showed deep interest in the Butcher that Valt had captured.

“Oh! Is this him? The Butcher that big bro captured!? Amazing! He seems like more than just a crime boss!”

Victor was someone who purely admired martial prowess, whether from friend or foe.

This trait made Victor the most similar to the King of Fists among all his disciples.

“Yes, he was quite strong. If it hadn’t been a surprise attack, it would have been difficult.”

Victor couldn’t help but laugh at Valt’s assessment.

“Hahaha, no way you would have had trouble, big bro. You’re the founder of Matu-magic, and he’s only at the 7th floor!”

In reality, Valt had become so rapidly powerful that even professors were reluctant to spar with him.

Even in a proper confrontation, Valt’s victory would have been the natural outcome.

“This one may be the weakest among the leaders, but we can’t assume the other four will be as easy to capture.”

Victor’s expression finally turned serious.

“No way? Big bro, are you planning to wipe out all four organization bosses?”

Valt shrugged at Victor’s question.

“Why not? With proper preparation and timing, it’s always possible. And now that these hard-to-find guys are gathered together, what better opportunity could there be?”

Lisa’s mouth fell open in surprise at Valt’s words.

“A-are you serious!? Are you crazy? We’ll all die!? I heard the leader of Shadow Reaper is rumored to be at the 8th floor! Even for you, Valt…”

Valt smiled, showing his trademark solid teeth.

“I thought as much, so I requested some help.”

“H-help?”

***

“That kid, ordering a professor around like that. No way! I need to teach him a good lesson.”

Despite his words, Professor Leman was smiling as he gathered his clothes, and Professor Marcel Albert, the head professor who was on duty with him today, asked while sipping his tea.

“Where are you going? Who’s going to cover your shift?”

Leman scratched the back of his head and began to act innocent in front of Professor Marcel.

“Well, you see, it’s about Valt.”

At the mention of Valt, Professor Marcel, an 8th floor spearman who had once sparred with him, grew increasingly interested.

“Valt? What about Valt?”

“You know they all went to wipe out a criminal organization by sneaking into their den, right?”

Professor Marcel nodded as if it were obvious.

“Yes, I remember we let them go after they promised not to engage in dangerous activities and to strictly follow the mission requirements.”

“Do you believe that, Head Professor?”

At Leman’s question, Professor Marcel could only clear his throat.

In truth, the students who had gone out on the mission against the criminal organizations had enough strength to potentially occupy a small castle of an average kingdom.

Especially Valt, Solfin, Lilith, and Aileen could potentially overcome even active military forces.

“Ahem, but they’re good kids, aren’t they? They’ve been training very diligently lately.”

Leman nodded as if to say “I told you so.”

“Hehe, see? Even you don’t believe they’ll behave. Let me just tell you quickly. Those kids have caused trouble. And they’ve done it properly.”

At the mention of trouble, Professor Marcel put his hand to his forehead. With the princess among the group, it was impossible not to be concerned.

“Sigh… When you say they’ve caused trouble ‘properly,’ it doesn’t sound like an ordinary matter… Judging by your expression… they don’t seem to be injured yet… I really don’t know. Are you saying they’ve smashed one of the criminal organizations?”

“Hahaha, ‘smashed’ is close enough. To put it simply, they completely destroyed the Butcher’s organization and found out where the leaders of the other four major organizations are gathered.”

Professor Marcel’s eyes widened at those words.

“W-what!? Then we should inform the city guard! Why did they contact you instead!?”

Leman smiled slightly as he strapped his sword to his waist and walked toward the door.

“Isn’t this an opportunity provided by a good disciple who’s thinking of his master? I’ll go ahead!”

Whoosh-

With that, Leman disappeared instantly, and Marcel could only stare at the door through which Leman had left.

In truth, Leman was currently at a plateau in his growth.

Clearly, his aura, technique, and mindset should have been more than enough to reach the 8th floor, but his inability to do so meant only one thing.

He needed an insight from a life-or-death battle.

Insights tend to come suddenly at unexpected moments.

This is especially true for swordsmen like Leman who rely on their bodies.

While the academy was relatively full of strong individuals, it was natural that one had to seize their own insights.

Although Master-level Professor Marcel had given generous advice, that was only related to technique. Marcel had never advised Leman on his “mental imagery.”

Rather, inadequate advice could become an obstacle for Leman to reach greater heights.

In that respect, Leman truly needed a life-or-death battle. But as an academy professor, such opportunities were hard to come by.

And now, his worthy disciple Valt had presented him with just such an opportunity.

Professor Marcel took a sip of tea and then stood up.

“Hmm, I can’t notify the city guard right away.”

Professor Marcel roughly understood the situation and intended to give Leman some time.

***

Shortly after, all of Valt’s friends had gathered at the place Lisa mentioned, and Solfin and Robin had stopped their rampage and were rushing to Valt.

From what they heard, it seemed Solfin had thoroughly destroyed buildings and more.

Most attacks couldn’t harm Solfin, and Robin, who supported Solfin from an invisible distance at night, reduced the burden of attacks concentrated on Solfin by shooting arrows at the right moments.

After confirming that all his friends had arrived, Valt spoke.

“Well, everyone’s here. Solfin, tell Robin to come directly to us. Let’s get moving.”

“W-where are we going?”

Seeing Liduin’s anxious face, Valt grinned.

“Somewhere fun. I’ll tell you the details on the way.”