chapter_0138

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
138

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
138

On the evening of the third
day of the field trip, over half of the first-grade Academy students
had gathered in a corner of the forest.

Although their reasons for
gathering were different, their purpose was singular: to take down
Lucy Allen.

“We will make Lucy Allen,
who turned this field trip into pandemonium, pay for her crimes.”

“Yeah!”

As Arthur stood in the centre
and finished his speech, the students gathered there cheered loudly.

In their eyes were hatred,
resentment, and conviction.

Arthur inwardly gave a bitter
smile amidst the cheering. Strictly speaking, Lucy Allen had done
nothing wrong.

After all, the pillaging
during the field trip was entirely sanctioned by the Academy
professors. Lucy had merely operated within the rules set by the
professors.

If anyone was to bear
responsibility for the chaos in the forest, it should be the
professors who devised such rules.

If one had to pin a fault on
Lucy Allen, it would be that she had fired the opening salvo for the
pillaging too vigorously.

Although Arthur knew the
truth, he didn’t point it out. If Lucy hadn’t incurred so much
enmity, it wouldn’t have been possible for him to unite the
students this way.

Certainly, while Lucy Allen
was unparalleled in martial and intellectual prowess, she was quite
naive in political affairs.

If she had engaged in more
selective pillaging toward the end of the field trip, targeting only
those who had collected abundant loot, this coalition would never
have formed.

If Lucy Allen had been a bit
more cunning, Arthur wouldn’t have been able to even dream of this
retribution.

After his speech, Arthur
returned to a spot where various party leaders had gathered.

The attendees were impressive;
each one was considered a bright future for the kingdom.

Just being admitted to the
Academy was enough to be considered elite in the kingdom, and among
those admitted, these were individuals with remarkable reputations.

There was not a single
incompetent person present here.

“So, what exactly is the
plan?” Meryl Baines was the first to speak among the group.

Though she received relatively
less attention, overshadowed by Lucy Allen and Frey Kent, she held a
top position in combat studies among the current first-year students.
With eyes full of passion, she questioned Arthur.

‘She definitely has a grudge
against Lucy Allen. Probably thinking of taking this opportunity for
revenge. Let’s hope her personal feelings don’t lead her to act
recklessly.’

“Meryl Baines, you are
taking the Monster Hunting Studies class, no?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Monster Hunting Studies is a
subject where students learn about various monsters that have existed
throughout human history and how to hunt them. It is a semi-mandatory
course for the children of martial families who are expected to take
on command roles.

“In that class, don’t they
show examples of dozens of people hunting a single monster together?”

“You mean the War of
Attrition?”

“Yes. I plan to apply what
we learned in that course here.”

In that class, they also teach
how to hunt monsters with a human form. The standard method is
considered to be gradually wearing down the monster by having
multiple parties cooperate and take turns attacking.

Monsters with a human form are
smaller in size, making it difficult to overwhelm them with sheer
numbers as one would with giants or dragons. Therefore, it’s deemed
more effective to gather a small but elite force to engage in a war
of attrition.

Arthur, who had the
second-best grades in Monster Hunting Studies after Lucy, had
thoroughly memorised this method.

“What will you do about the
other party members who are with Lucy Allen?” Jack Burrow, who had
rushed over at the mention of taking down Lucy, asked the question,
prompting Arthur to smile.

“I told you already. I plan
to use what we learned in Monster Hunting Studies.”

“We have a large number of
people gathered here, but there’s no need to use everyone to take
down Lucy Allen. We will divide into four Attack Squads.

There’s no reason for just
four people to face one party. They are stronger together as a team
than as individuals.

We will surprise them with an
ambush, divide them, and then defeat them one by one.

In terms of threat level, Lucy
is the first priority, followed by Frey, then Joy and Phoebe.

Lucy and Frey have the
strength to protect themselves even if surrounded by dozens of
people, but Joy and Phoebe do not.

So, we will assign people to
stall Lucy and Frey while our elite members first take down Joy and
Phoebe.

After that, we’ll overwhelm
Frey, and finally, everyone left will gather to hunt down Lucy
Allen.”

After Arthur finished
explaining his plan, murmurs filled the group.

His idea was fundamentally
sound. It could very well be the best method to hunt down an
exceptional individual. But his plan lacked a crucial element.

“Can we really move in such
an organised manner?”

One of the people in the group
raised their hand and asked the question. It was a very reasonable
doubt.

The Academy students, though
highly skilled, were far from trained soldiers.

Most of them haven’t even
fully adapted to coordinating with their four-member parties. Could
hundreds of them execute such an organic movement?

The answer was obvious.

“Of course, it’s
impossible.”

If it were possible, then why
would lords gather and train soldiers and knights from their
territories?

Whenever something happens,
they just gather up the peasants and roughly handle it.

But that won’t be an issue.
Most of their roles will just be stalling for time.

“We just need the regular
squads to stall for time.”

If this discussion was about
dealing with dangerous monsters, Arthur’s statement could have been
quite controversial.

It would have sounded like he
was asking them to throw their lives away to buy time.

However, this situation was
different. It was part of a field trip.

“The elite squads
gathered for single combat are sufficient for coordination.”

Arthur seized control of the
assembly, declaring firmly, then began to elaborate his plan.

“Lady Allen, are you sure
this is okay?”

Joy, who was watching the
sunrise, muttered nervously about the impending assault.

‘It’s fine.’

“Airhead Lady, what are
you worried about? There’s no way those weaklings can take me down.”

“But now there are almost
a hundred people coming for us…”

Last night, after the
perverted Fox informed us about the impending ambush, I had been
preparing to counter the raid led by Arthur.

I expected something like this
to happen, given we decided to play the villain and rob every person
we saw in the forest. Yet, I never imagined their numbers would be
close to a hundred.

If the perverted Fox hadn’t
warned us in advance, I would have been horrified to see the crowd in
front of us. Just how much of a grudge do they have?

‘It’s really fine.’

“Do you think I’m just
like you, making mistakes all the time, Airhead Lady? I have a plan.
Don’t worry.”

“Okay.”

Despite the larger numbers
than I anticipated, my plan remained unchanged.

In fact, having more people
actually worked in my favour.

The more people there are, the
harder it will be to control the chaos once it starts.

‘But Joy…’

“Airhead Lady, instead of
babbling nonsense, why don’t you check on your magic? Are you
properly prepared?”

“Don’t worry about that.
Do you think I’ve only used that spell once or twice?”

‘Still…’

“I have no confidence in
you. Are you sure you didn’t make any mistakes? Really sure?”

“Yes, I haven’t made any
mistakes at all… Oh?”

Knowing how often Joy made
mistakes at critical moments, I urged her to double-check.

Unable to withstand my
nagging, she insisted everything was ready, but as she examined the
spell she had crafted, her eyes widened and she quickly turned her
head away.

Even I, a layman in magic,
could understand what that meant.

‘You made a mistake, didn’t
you?’

“Airhead Lady, what kind
of blunder did you make this time?”

“It’s nothing major. Just
a slight miscalculation in the volume control.”

Sigh. What would have happened
if I hadn’t asked you to check again?

As expected, Airhead Lady
always makes mistakes at critical moments.

As I sighed pointedly, Joy,
who was watching me, explained that it was a minor issue she could
fix quickly.

Joy, that’s not the point. The
problem is that you made another mistake this time.

As Joy’s face gradually turned
red under my cold stare, Frey came running from a distance.

“They’re coming.”

Is it about time?

‘Joy…’

“Airhead Lady, finish the
adjustment quickly. And don’t make another sloppy airheaded mistake.”

“I got it, so just wait a
little bit!”

“Your Highness, we’ve
found Lucy Allen.”

“Where is she?”

“She’s waiting in the
middle of a clearing.”

“…What?”

‘A clearing? What does that
mean? In this forest, where it’s easy to get lost, what do you mean
there’s a clearing?’

Arthur frowned at the news
delivered by another student, but he soon saw with his own eyes that
the report was true.

Lucy Allen was indeed standing
right in the middle of a clearing.

Judging by the traces of
felled trees, it looked like this clearing had been created by Lucy
herself.

‘Was she preparing for an
ambush?

Looks like she won’t go down
quietly.’

Although Arthur clicked his
tongue, he wasn’t surprised that she anticipated the attack.

Considering the opponent. For
someone as intelligent as her, predicting Arthur’s strategy wasn’t
surprising at all.

‘What is it, Lucy Allen?

What kind of trap could she
have set in such a short time?

No matter how capable she is,
her strength can’t take on a hundred people.

Even a renowned Archmage
wouldn’t be able to reverse the situation here.

So, why is Lucy Allen standing
there so confidently?

It’s bravado. She’s stalling
for time. She’s probably thinking she can hold out until the field
trip ends.

Ha ha. I won’t fall for it!’

Confident that Lucy’s bravado
was just a bluff after a brief contemplation, Arthur was about to
instruct the students he led.

However, at that moment.

“Ah.”

Lucy’s voice echoed throughout
the clearing.

‘Is this… voice
amplification magic? Why would she prepare a spell usually reserved
for speeches?’

“Hello♡ You bunch of
perverted trash gathered to bully a single girl♡ Creepy, perverted
losers♡”

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