Trolling 2

‘But should we just leave it like this?’

Alice suddenly had this thought.

Even though Perdain and his soldiers had crawled into enemy territory without proper combat preparation, the scale of the Arbentaine’s private army was fundamentally incomparable to that of Coffee Tree.

The private army and combat secretarial corps currently present here constituted about 40% of Arbentaine’s total forces. The remaining personnel were reorganizing the combat homunculus cultivation facility, which was presumed to have been attacked, and defending the archduke Arbentaine residence.

‘Compared to that, Coffee Tree must have mobilized all their forces, down to the last soul, right?’

【The probability of that assumption is high, considering that an Awakened comparable to a quasi-S rank has been identified.】

‘If they’re cowardly nobles, they usually wouldn’t put their strongest forces on the front lines, but would assign them to protect themselves.’

The fact that such cowardly nobles had even put the forces meant to protect them on the front lines meant that they felt the severity of the situation.

If they had remained as quiet as mice, as they usually did, Perdain wouldn’t have thought of purging them all, but now that they had openly declared war, Perdain’s options were narrowed down to one.

The choice of annihilation instead of tolerance and mercy.

If Coffee Tree’s private army managed to annihilate Arbentaine’s private army or assassinate the head of the family, Perdain, by taking advantage of surprise attacks and weaponry, things would be different, but unfortunately, this wasn’t even Arbentaine’s full strength, and Perdain’s personal martial prowess was already close to that of a quasi-First-Class Overseer.

How could the power accumulated by inheriting and stealing the talents and bloodlines of others over generations be ordinary?

Originally, Perdain himself couldn’t use it properly because it was meant to be transplanted into combat homunculi, but even so, Perdain was quite strong.

In fact, wasn’t Perdain easily suppressing and attacking Coffee Tree’s maximum forces single-handedly?

The relaxed expression on his face showed that he was already sure of victory.

‘Ah, at this rate, Perdain will just kill everyone, including Coffee Tree!’

But now that she thought about it, the complete annihilation of the anti-rebellion faction was by no means a desirable situation for Alice.

Compared to Arbentaine, their power was weak, and their forces were small, but several nobles gathered together to voice their opposition to the rebellion.

This alone applied a certain amount of restraint to Perdain. In fact, Perdain was most concerned about Coffee Tree and the anti-rebellion faction of Ruincrest before properly executing the ’cause’.

In other words, Coffee Tree had to be intact for Alice to enjoy a super-long vacation and rest under the guise of a long-term mission while playing the student at Ruincrest Academy.

Honestly, Academy life was quite fun.

Playing the young lady of a noble family, which was not in her nature, was quite enjoyable, and playing with her sister, who looked at her with suspicious eyes, was a worthwhile game.

For that reason, Alice decided to secretly support Coffee Tree.

【Accessing the Ruincrest main administrative framework.】

【Hacking the mana circuits engraved in the earth.】

【Mana Absolution program confirmed.】

【Excluding all power allocated to the Ruincrest administrative AI.】

Theresa, reading Alice’s intentions, immediately hacked the power of the administrative AI spread throughout the Ruincrest layer.

All the power going into the administrative drones and security maintenance organizations roaming the streets was now in Alice’s grasp.

She was trying to cause a disturbance, so why bother risking her own energy?

【Enhancement – Skin Hardening】

【Enhancement – Flexibility Increase】

【Enhancement – Mana Control】

【Enhancement – Strength Augmentation】

“Good. It’s working well.”

Giving enhancement magic to someone, which she didn’t even remember properly, was a first in this life, but from the moment she could sense and store mana in her body through fusion, the aspect of the Demon King, who had mastered all kinds of magic, was fully demonstrated.

Thus, the A-rank Awakened, who were Coffee Tree’s maximum force, began to receive Alice’s enhancement magic and the Maggot’s Blessing that Fira, who had arrived nearby, bestowed upon them from both sides.

‘Huh, what is this? My body feels lighter?’

‘I feel like I can do anything right now!’

Of course, they weren’t fools either, so they would have been wary of the unidentified blessing and enhancement magic cast on them under normal circumstances.

There was a high possibility that it was a subtle curse, so they would have activated grand magic, set up barriers, or tried to reject the blessing with their mental strength.

But that was assuming a normal situation. As the situation where Perdain was trying to kill them all single-handedly approached, they threw away their wariness and accepted Alice’s enhancement magic and Fira’s blessing at the same time.

As a result, the battle, which Perdain would have ended in an instant, began to drag on.

“Hey, noble sir, put in a little more effort!”

“You came out so confidently, is this all you’ve got?”

“As expected, the level of a noble shut-in who doesn’t know the ways of the world is quite obvious!”

-Kwaang!

“Kuh-uk…!”

Perdain gritted his teeth and was busy dodging the Awakened’s attacks.

No, originally, they should have died from the first formless mass bombardment.

Even if they survived that, there was no way they could withstand his surprise attack, which was comparable to that of a First-Class Overseer, and even if they noticed the surprise attack, the battle should have been decided within ten exchanges!

Perdain’s feelings right now were like those of Lu Bu feeling threatened by the martial prowess of some country bumpkin, or those of a grand mage who was protecting a petrified hero and was unexpectedly hit in the back of the head and defeated.

How could these trash, who originally weren’t even worth a handful, be enduring my attacks!?

‘Is someone supporting them? Enhancement magic or a blessing?’

But the funny thing was that enhancement magic and blessings couldn’t even function properly in such a large-scale Awakened battlefield.

In a state where mana was distorted, blessings and enhancements couldn’t even find their targets properly, and if they were careless, they would end up enhancing the enemy. In this situation, only First-Class Overseers who were actively working could properly cast enhancements and blessings.

‘It’s impossible…! Unless they’re really under the protection of a First-Class Overseer from the central administration, this is impossible! It means my own skill is simply being overwhelmed by them!’

Perdain’s thoughts were quite accurate, but unfortunately, the masterpiece of the Dunhill Family and the android beep-boop from the Demon King’s lineage, a fake noble young lady, were enthusiastically supporting the Awakened who were fighting against Perdain in this place.

“You damn bastards…!”

“Hahaha! The noble sir is quite strong, isn’t he?”

“The higher-ups say that everything will be solved if we just kill this bookworm!”

“Really? I want to live a long life, so I’ll have to kill him here, right now!”

-Kwaaang!

-Pajijik!

A huge burst and shockwave ravaged the surroundings.

At first, Perdain was unilaterally massacring the Awakened, but now it was completely the opposite.

That arrogant and strong Perdain Arbentaine!

That Perdain Arbentaine, who advocated the cause and said he would completely take the Ark into his own hands, was instead being pushed back by mere mercenaries and Awakened from hunter backgrounds.

No, to be exact, he was being chased around.

The Awakened on the Coffee Tree side were initially flustered by the unidentified blessing and enhancement magic, but since it was clear that they were being enhanced to defeat Perdain, whatever the purpose, they decided to use it effectively.

Honestly, it was a funny situation.

The Awakened on the Coffee Tree side underestimated Perdain’s power. They thought it was natural for them to die, but thanks to the unidentified blessing and enhancement magic, they could drive this obnoxious noble sir into a corner.

Moreover, as victory seemed to be within their grasp, the higher-ups started making a fuss on the small radios attached to the Awakened’s ears, shouting, ‘Kill Perdain right now!’, ‘Everything will be solved if we just kill him!’, ‘We’ll give 40% of the family’s assets to whoever kills Perdain Arbentaine!’

Perdain was just frustrated and angry enough to grind his teeth.

I’m supposed to win.

I’m stronger than them.

I’m really much stronger than those damn lowly mercenary bastards!

But why am I being pushed back?

Why do I have to run away, showing my back to them in such an unsightly and pathetic manner!?

Even their speed and reflexes were enhanced to an unbelievable level, so Perdain couldn’t even escape properly.

“P-protect the head of the family!”

“Ugh!”

Perdain’s combat secretarial corps hurriedly tried to sortie, but the Coffee Tree side’s private army didn’t just stand by.

“Stop them! We have to kill the head of the Arbentaine Family now!”

“If we don’t kill him now, we’ll all die!”

“Y-you bastards!”

“Get out of the way!”

“We can’t handle them at our level! Evacuate!”

“Damn it! Contact the archduke Arbentaine residence and request additional troops! No, not just additional troops, but war machines right now…!”

“B-but we don’t have the head of the family’s orders…”

“Damn it!”

As the situation became clearly unfavorable, the Arbentaine side’s soldiers naturally tried to request additional reinforcements and war machines, but due to Coffee Tree’s prior preparations, this area was under a wide-area barrier that prevented anyone from coming or going, including communication.

The barrier would only disappear if the person who cast it was killed or if the Arbentaine side was completely annihilated.

-Jijijijik!

“…!”

“W-what’s that sound?”

“No way!?”

At that moment, a terrible bursting sound that tore through the air shook the inside of the barrier.

Since everyone inside was an Awakened, they knew what that sound was.

It wasn’t the sound of combat or gunpowder exploding, but the sound and vibration of the barrier being forcibly torn apart by something.

“C-could it be that the archduke Arbentaine residence has already sent reinforcements?”

“Damn it…!”

The Coffee Tree side’s private army, who had cast the barrier, looked displeased, as if things had gone badly for them.

“As expected…! There’s no way the competent secretarial corps of the archduke Arbentaine residence would miss this!”

“You’re all dead now!”

The Arbentaine side’s private army smiled as if they had seized the victory.

Even now, the forces were evenly matched, but if additional troops and war machines arrived from the archduke Arbentaine residence, the victory would definitely tilt to one side.

“Kuh! Kill Perdain! We have to kill him now while he can’t use his strength!”

“Not if I can help it!”

The high-ranking Awakened, sensing the rapidly changing situation, hurriedly tried to kill Perdain, but Perdain’s skills were originally overwhelming compared to them.

It was true that he was pushed back due to being flustered by the sudden situation and unable to handle the numbers, but if Perdain was determined to focus on defense, even the high-ranking Awakened who had received Alice’s and Fira’s enhancements and blessings couldn’t kill Perdain like a fly in an instant.

‘Good. Although it’s an unsightly situation, if the archduke Arbentaine residence has noticed something suspicious and sent additional troops and war machines, the situation can be resolved quickly!’

Of course, Perdain would not forget today’s disgrace.

He would definitely kill those high-ranking Awakened, regardless of whether he could recruit them or not, and he would make the private army sign a magic contract to keep everything that happened today a secret.

Of course, to do that, he had to resolve the current stalemate first.

Now, look.

At the majesty of Arbentaine.

At the power of the meritorious family!

Your forces, gathered from the depths of your souls, are nothing but a handful to us…

“Marlang?”

…?

What was that just now?

Perdain felt like he had suddenly heard the voice of an unsuited young girl in the battlefield.

“Marlang?”

“Marlaaang…”

“Bumeok!”

“Bumeok?”

“Marlang!”

Suspicious shadows began to gather in the night sky of Ruincrest, where complete darkness had fallen due to the aftermath of the great battle between the Awakened, with no lamps or streetlights.

There weren’t just a few.

There were dozens, hundreds… no, thousands of them.

“Marlang?”

“Marlang!”

“Marlaaang!”

And all those thousands of shadows were shouting ‘Marlang!’