Trolling

The massive clock tower built in Victorian style is destroyed.

The elegant and beautiful garden of someone is soaked in flames and poison. The roads, once spotless, are split as wretchedly as a slum area and covered in dust.

With over a thousand Awakened engaging in a simultaneous armed conflict, even the refined streets of the nobles could not remain unscathed.

“—The Healing Team, do not stop the incantation! The moment you stop the main incantation, the entire vanguard will be annihilated!”

“Assassins from the flanks!”

“You bug-like bastards!”

“Kerk!”

The battle of the Awakened is truly a spectacle worthy of movies and comics.

Fire and lightning, ice and rock fly through the air. All sorts of curses and magical formulas adorn the night sky, making it seem like a splendid and grand festival to the uninitiated.

However, the method of combat itself is surprisingly simple.

No, to be honest, it’s brutally straightforward. The combat style of the Awakened forces starts with a barrage of abilities from a distance, followed by closing the gap for a frontal clash.

Why gather foolishly and fight like primitives instead of simply dispersing the troops?

It sounds simple enough, but reality is different.

In a situation with over four-digit numbers of Awakened, dispersing the troops would leave them unable to defend against large-scale spells and magical artillery, and there are Awakened who can manipulate the five senses or create illusions. The moment they are separated, those individuals are as good as dead.

Basically, the battles of the Awakened are a chaotic explosion of mana and curses, but the Coffee Tree and Arbentaine Family’s private soldiers are purely C to B-grade Awakened, and acting alone here means they are not protected by the allied defensive magic.

Probably, the moment they leave the formation, they are likely to die like victims swept away by a storm.

Therefore, those who can move independently in large-scale Awakened battles are usually one of two types.

Those who are insane and suicidal.

Or those with overwhelming abilities who can defend against magical artillery, curses, and abilities of a unit scale, even alone.

And Perdain Arbentaine was clearly the latter.

-Bang!

“Do not block my path. You inferior beings!”

“Aaaagh!”

“Evade! It’s an intangible sword strike!”

The moment he gestured, the bodies of dozens of Awakened were simultaneously split in half.

It was the Arbentaine Family’s secret technique: the ability to grant mass to space and manipulate it.

The massive intangible blade swept through the battlefield, and the riff-raff, except for the Awakened who reacted quickly, were ejected to the afterlife before they could even pay their dues.

Perdain, who usually seemed like the embodiment of coolness and reason, now seemed to have flames blazing in his eyes due to anger.

“It’s Perdain Arbentaine!”

“The head of the Arbentaine Family!”

With his appearance, the Awakened on the Coffee Tree side retreated simultaneously.

Regardless, Perdain is the head of a meritorious family.

Although he has never been objectively evaluated, it is said that he has the specs of a quasi-First-Class Overseer, so no one in the Ruincrest layer underestimates Perdain’s capabilities.

C-grade and below Awakened immediately retreated to the rear, and A-grade or higher Awakened, somehow acquired, formed a line to block Perdain in the front.

“If we kill him, the petty disputes of the nobles will end.”

“Are you out of your mind? The employer and owner of so many private soldiers is directly on the battlefield?”

“Looks like the noble who used to work inside has grown quite bold.”

The A-grade Awakened on the Coffee Tree side are also quite seasoned.

No, since their last grade before being hired was A-grade, it wouldn’t be strange if they now had skills approaching quasi-S-grade.

When hired by noble families, they receive support for various elixirs, magic books, and high-end equipment, so it was natural that their skills improved much more than when they were working as hunters or mercenaries.

Some of them even have experience participating in external expedition teams, and some have a record of hunting monsters that have been judged as S-grade.

The reason they were scouted by the noble families of Ruincrest was because they had the qualifications and power to do so.

Until now, there hasn’t been a stage where they could fully step forward, but as the situation has reached this point, the A-grade Awakened, who can be said to be the maximum power of the Coffee Tree side, have begun to appear.

In terms of Overseers, those with at least 2nd to 3rd grade abilities have begun to step onto the battlefield in earnest.

“I’ll take the flanks.”

“I’m confident in the front. It’s an intangible mass weapon, but it can’t cut a blade covered in energy.”

“That’s good.”

“Noble, I have no grudges, but you’ll have to die here.”

“Ha.”

Perdain wore an expression as if he was dumbfounded that such insignificant things were blocking him.

“It’s a strange coincidence. I have no grudges against you either.”

“Unexpectedly, a noble who is easy to talk to? If you weren’t our employer, we wouldn’t have had to do this.”

“Yes, yes. This is just work, and it’s just a role given to each other. Let’s go quickly.”

“Do you necessarily give grudges to catching bugs in the garden?”

“……”

The Awakened, feeling Perdain’s aspect as the head of a meritorious family who despised hunters and mercenaries, immediately frowned.

As expected, it seems necessary to show that noble the terrors of the outside world.

However, Perdain did not live under his mother’s skirt, nor was he a noble who only looked at documents in a comfortable room, as the private soldiers from hunter backgrounds said.

Perdain graduated from Ruincrest Academy with top honors, and at the same time, he used his family’s connections to experience long-term external expedition internships, the rugged human ecology of the lower layer, and conquered 37 dungeons outside the barrier.

His ability and boldness to dream of rebellion against the central administration were not created in vain, and Perdain, who had the talent accumulated as an Arbentaine Family ‘bloodline’, could tell at a glance that the Coffee Tree’s Awakened were no match for him.

‘At most 10 moves. If it’s short, I can finish it in 5 moves.’

Even though they are A-grade or higher Awakened, he can’t simply kill them like swatting flies, but Perdain was confident in his victory.

The family’s secret art, talent, experience, everything predicted Perdain’s victory, and once he killed the A-grade Awakened who seemed to be the maximum power of the Coffee Tree, the lives of the remaining C to B-grade private soldiers were no different from reeds.

‘No. They are Awakened even if they are rotten. The reason they don’t surrender to me is probably because of the existence of the high-ranking private soldiers blocking me now.’

Among hunters and mercenaries, even if they are A-grade, they can be in charge of the guild leader of an ordinary guild, and S-grade is comparable to a First-Class Overseer, so it is not strange for the Coffee Tree’s private soldiers to have hope.

‘If I only get rid of the heads, I can fully absorb them.’

For the Arbentaine Family, money and capital are truly overflowing, so the betrayal of that Awakened private soldier corps can be made into a very ‘trivial matter’.

The center of Perdain’s planned rebellion is the combat homunculus, but for the grand and vast cause, the more hands, the better.

Frankly, the noble families who are members of the Coffee Tree are just annoying.

If he only neutralizes the high-ranking Awakened hired by them here, and grinds all the middle-ranking members of the Coffee Tree to absorb their power and family, he can prepare for an even more solid cause than before.

‘As Alice said, the amount of documents piled up on the desk will increase absurdly, but since it has been confirmed that they are deliberately turning their backs on the cause and antagonizing the Arbentaine Family, this is the only way.’

Yes, he has made a decision, so it’s time to execute.

Is there any need to fistfight with dirty and insignificant things?

Let’s finish it quickly.

It’s not strange to draw out the maximum power from the start.

‘Let’s kill them for sure.’

-[Sky Splitter]

At that moment, the artificial sky of the Ruincrest layer began to split.

Perdain was drawing out his ability to its maximum output.

“…!”

Numerous intangible blades engraved in the air.

It was a level of precise ability control that could not be compared to his own son, Dehite Arbentaine, who died two months ago, and even the number was so grand that it filled the sky in an instant.

“How can this be…!”

“Isn’t that an ability comparable to a First-Class Overseer!”

“I thought it was a bluff, but is it real?”

The high-ranking Awakened on the Coffee Tree side also began to deploy evasion maneuvers or barriers with astonished faces.

But Perdain wore a sneer.

They won’t be able to withstand it at their level.

The mana penetration, Kanggi, and cutting force given to the intangible blades will allow them to withstand it for a very short time, but they cannot avoid death.

“Die.”

“It’s coming!”

As Perdain lowered his hand as if declaring, the intangible blades containing mass began to pour down like rain.

-Kwaaaang!

“E, evade!”

“Keuk!?”

The high-ranking Awakened hired by Coffee Tree are not fools either.

They intuitively felt that they could not win against Perdain with their capabilities in the first attack.

They certainly have abilities close to S-grade, but that’s just the story of the simple body, and the compatibility of abilities is too bad.

It is natural that infantry is at a disadvantage against archers shooting arrows from a distance, but if the distance that infantry cannot reach the archers is maintained, only the fate of sitting still and being hit by arrows awaits.

The compatibility between the Awakened and Perdain was exactly like that.

The physical ability values are certainly close to S-grade, but that was the same for Perdain, and even Perdain had not only the body but also the ability and magic of S-grade for sure with the family’s secret art, so the high-ranking Awakened on the Coffee Tree side had no chance of winning from the beginning.

-Tsu tsu tsu…

When the rain of blades that had been pouring like a downpour stopped, the surroundings became quiet.

The private soldier corps, who were keeping their distance, could not close their mouths at the otherworldly sight, and the combat secretary team and private soldier corps hired by Perdain were confident of victory.

“Wh, what. Why am I still alive?”

“Heo, heok… I thought I was going to die.”

“Hmm?”

But when the smoke cleared, Perdain witnessed an unexpected sight.

Why are they all alive?

Even if they survived, it would be at most a few.

At least two-thirds of them should have died from the attack just now, but everyone survived?

‘They must be incredibly lucky.’

Perdain decided to continue the attack without being complacent.

The mana circuit spread through Perdain’s body, strengthening his strength, speed, reflexes, and flexibility. Immediately, Perdain flew forward.

-Kkaang!

“Uwat!?”

What.

They blocked it again?

No, even if they blocked it, he was planning to cut off their heads along with their arms…

Perdain made a judgment in his mind.

The Coffee Tree guys… they seem to have recruited more powerful talents than I thought.

-Kkaang!

-Kadeudeudeuk!

In a short moment, Perdain launched dozens of attacks to kill one of the Awakened in front of him.

The intangible blade with mass was created at the tips of Perdain’s hands and feet, putting pressure on the high-ranking Awakened on the Coffee Tree side, and the opponent was busy blocking Perdain’s attack with a shocked expression.

But it was strange.

‘What, why are they still holding on?’

5 moves if short.

10 moves if long.

That was the conclusion Perdain came to when estimating their capabilities.

But 10 moves have already passed, and it’s already reaching 30 moves.

The high-ranking Awakened on the Coffee Tree side, who were initially busy blocking in embarrassment, began to calmly parry Perdain’s moves with a calm face.

Why?

Were their skills so outstanding?

No.

Perdain’s family secret art allows him to vaguely guess the talent or ability of the opponent.

It’s not as precise as a precision machine, but the accuracy is high.

Originally, this guy should have fallen and died in the first surprise attack.

“What! It’s not a big deal after all!”

“Let’s all push him!”

“Let that bookworm pay the price for recklessly stepping onto the battlefield!”

“Keuk!”

Even Perdain had to awkwardly move his body back in response to the unexpected surprise attack.

The swordsmanship or martial arts of hunters and mercenaries were mostly developed to survive, to win by any means. Unlike the regular martial arts and swordsmanship that Perdain learned, they do not hesitate to use unconventional and dirty methods.

Attacks on the eyes and weaknesses, including surprise attacks, are natural, and Perdain was increasingly pushed into a corner as the mercenaries launched unexpected attacks.

Are you daring to interfere in a 1:1 duel?

Yes, for mercenaries and hunters, it’s enough to win.

★

★

★

Fira, who arrived at the place where the battle took place, blinked her eyes and tried to grasp the situation as much as possible.

“Hmm~ What kind of situation is this?”

At first glance, one side is the Arbentaine Family’s private soldier corps.

The other side is the Coffee Tree, the coward nobles’ corps that Alice mentioned.

It’s almost the first time that such a large-scale battle has taken place in the nobles’ layer.

Nobles usually wage war with words, letters, documents, and splendid political rhetoric, but it is very rare to cause armed conflict in such a barbaric way.

However, Fira was not just playing around, so she could roughly guess the situation.

Probably…

“Well, it seems our Alice has stirred things up well~”

If Alice heard it directly, she would have said, ‘Huh, I didn’t do it…’, but it is true that Fira’s words are close to the truth because the fire spread thanks to Alice’s trivial actions.

Fira happened to have her dormitory, the dormitory housing complex, nearby. Originally, she could have just left it alone.

But who is Fira?

Our Alice is working hard!

My beloved Alice!

My revered Alice!

She is working hard as an Overseer!

Fira has been a type whose intelligence has been slightly lowered, limited to Alice, for some time.

So, Fira’s thoughts when she saw this chaotic war were…

“Don’t worry, Alice! I will help Alice’s mess!”

Fira’s limit, who had made a judgment, was released.

Fira’s body and mana, which had been downgraded to the level of a Ruincrest Academy student, were released at once.

She returned to the body of First-Class Overseer Fira Dunhill.

Of course, Fira is not a fool, so she did not reveal her presence.

“Now, let’s see~ Ah, there’s the head of the Arbentaine Family over there!”

Should I kill him right away?

No, that wouldn’t be right.

Fira’s head turned quickly.

It would be okay to kill the center of the rebellion here, but if it were the intelligent Alice, she would surely induce the mutual destruction of Coffee Tree and Arbentaine as much as possible.

For that reason, what Fira chose was…

[Maggot’s Blessing]

The maggots living in Fira’s body simultaneously bestowed tremendous enhancement and blessing magic on the allies.

For reference, the allies here are the high-ranking Awakened on the Coffee Tree side who are fighting against Perdain.

In fact, as Perdain expected, the Awakened on the Coffee Tree side should have died without even lasting 10 moves, but on the contrary, they were now fiercely pushing Perdain into a corner.

“Kueueueuk!”

“Euhahahat! As expected, bookworms who think they are strong need to know their place!”

“This is how mercenaries fight, noble!”

In reality, Perdain would have already slaughtered them, but the Awakened who received Fira’s enhancement blessing were driving the head of the Arbentaine Family into a corner with their respective combinations and fighting methods.

‘Oh my, but they are fighting better than I thought?’

Why are they fighting so well?

Fira tilted her head and concentrated her mind, and the chaotic mana flow of the battlefield began to be felt.

All sorts of mana are intertwined due to the battle of the private soldier corps, but the largest ones are currently Perdain and the high-ranking Awakened fighting against him.

And Fira’s enhancement blessing magic that secretly supports them…

“Huh? Alice?”

Only then did Fira realize.

Ah, I’m not the only one giving enhancement magic and blessings?

“As expected, we are one in mind and body! Alice!”