Chapter 322

The stronghold of the Noble Dormitory.

Kal, who was responsible for base defense, suddenly wore an astonished expression.

“What? All the Gloria students are just defending?”

For Kal, who had gathered information through various routes and planned the operation accordingly, it was a surprising turn of events.

‘Did Chloe notice something and change the plan?’

If it was Chloe, she might have altered the strategy in anticipation of leaked information.

Kal revealed a troubled expression.

“Hey, how about we support the assault team with siege weapons?”

“Yeah, if all the Gloria students are only defending, it’ll be hard to break through with our current forces.”

The Noble students remaining at the base discussed the situation.

Most of the students left for the base defense were from the Department of Magic, specializing more in support and base protection rather than direct combat.

It was while the Noble students were devising their defense strategy for the stronghold.

Pook-!

“Huh?”

Something flew and pierced behind a student.

The light on the bracelet indicating life immediately went out.

The Noble student judged as dead was instantly teleported to the respawn point.

Seeing this, the faces of the Noble students hardened immediately.

“What, what’s going on?”

When a female Noble Magic student frantically looked around, a gentle voice called out.

“Hello?”

Kal’s expression became shocked.

“Chen Sia? How did you manage to get in here?”

“I snuck in.”

Chen Sia grinned beautifully, but that smile was like that of the Grim Reaper.

Shh-!

Chen Sia lifted her hand, which held a throwing dagger.

“Charge!”

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

“Get out of my way!”

For a magician, especially those specialized in rear support and base defense, combat with a knight at close range is very disadvantageous.

Especially if the opponent’s skill is vastly superior, the situation becomes even more terrifying.

Moreover, Chen Sia was from the Shadow group—a woman specialized in hunting Hero Hunters.

Chen Sia smiled while observing the Noble students scattering around.

“Why chase me instead of going after so many others?”

“Kal, do you know the basics of hunting?”

“How should I know that?”

“It’s to eliminate the weakest opponent first!”

“Is that what they call knighthood in the Department of Knights?”

“I’m from the Shadows.”

“Kiiiiaaaaah!”

Kal let out a terrified scream. Indeed, being chased by Chen Sia at this moment was pure terror.

As Chen Sia quickly closed the distance with the fleeing Kal,

Whooooosh! Kugguug!

A giant fireball aimed at Chen Sia shot through the air.

She easily dodged and tilted her head in confusion.

“Are you this bold to barge right into the center of the enemy’s ranks?”

“Emio!”

“Emio’s back!”

The Noble students’ expressions brightened. Even though Emio wasn’t ranked among the top fighters of the second year, he’s strong enough to stop Chen Sia.

“Arrogant one.”

Simultaneously with Emio’s cold words, the ground beneath Chen Sia started shaking.

“Binding of the Earth.”

The moment the spell completed, a massive palm emerged from the earth, grabbing Chen Sia.

As Emio nervously clenched his fist, an immense force was applied to the earth surrounding Chen Sia.

Kwa-dug!

A chilling sound resonated.

Thereupon, a smirk appeared on Emio’s face. Though it seemed like Emio had cast magic suddenly, he had in fact prepared a powerful spell over a significant amount of time since noticing Chen Sia.

“Chen Sia isn’t like Celia or Duran with overwhelming destructive power.”

In the Department of Knights, she was considered a top-tier student alongside Celia and Duran, but their area of expertise was clearly different.

“Indeed, in combat, magic users are weak against knights. But since there is this much distance, the magic user holds the clear advantage!”

Especially people like Celia and Duran,

who wield overwhelming firepower as knights, are exceptionally tough adversaries even for magicians due to their area of effect attacks.

But Chen Sia was different.

As long as she didn’t allow for a close-range battle, she could maintain her distance and attack her opponents.

“Leo Flove!”

Pruh-!

Emio gritted his teeth. Even though he admitted his underestimation, the fact that he, a top-tier student in the Department of Magic, had succumbed helplessly in a situation with numerous spectators was enough to bring tremendous shame.

“d*mn coward, to attack from behind…!”

As Emio was about to vent his curses at Leo and begin mobilizing mana,

Bang!

The earth binding that encapsulated Chen Sia was distorted as if it were made of mud.

Seeing this, Emio’s face turned rigid.

Pwaaang!

The sturdy prison exploded dramatically, and Chen Sia’s eyes met Emio’s while her fist was thrust forward.

With a light step, Chen Sia emerged and brushed her dress while smiling.

“You fell short, Emio.”

Emio’s face twisted in rage but then turned upward.

“Even though escaping from that magic was undeniably impressive, I’m still at an advantage.”

Emio did not think he was far behind the top students in terms of combat power.

From a family of soldiers, he was trained in combat-specific magic.

A jack-of-all-trades magician equipped with all sorts of practical attack spells.

At this moment, Emio was fully prepared for battle.

“The place where a magician can wield the most formidable combat power is, without a doubt, the stronghold.”

Emio declared confidently.

In truth, the dormitory strongholds were plastered with intricate magical seals augmented for defense.

“With the specific condition of ‘distance’ added, I’m definitely in an advantageous position.”

From his pocket, Emio pulled out a mana gem.

The gem, about the size of a palm, revolved around Emio.

“Moreover, my family has been eradicating the likes of you, lowly shadows, for generations.”

Given his family’s nature, having gone through countless wars, it was inevitable to accumulate many enemies. As a result, they were often threatened by ‘Shadows’ who specialized in assassination.

“We’re more than familiar with the tactics of the Shadows.”

Emio spat.

Upon hearing Emio’s words, Chen Sia’s eyes widened.

“So?”

“Huh?”

“Emio, you’ve established that this situation is to your advantage, but…”

Chen Sia genuinely tilted her head as if she didn’t understand.

“Is there any particular problem? I’m going to win anyway, right?”

Emio’s face distorted.

“Are you Leo Flove?”

“Even if you’re not Lord Leo, I think taking Emio down wouldn’t be all that hard.”

“Blasphemy.”

Emio began mustering mana.

“I’ll crush you!”

A massive amount of mana began to churn nervously.

‘From the start, it’s already annoying to see a lowly shadow who doesn’t even have the gods’ recognition pretending to be a Hero Candidate.’

Emio’s eyes glared with contempt.

Still, despite this look, Chen Sia smiled.

The story of Chen Sia had already spread among the students.

Regardless of whether they were older or younger years, many harbored hostility and disdain towards the Shadows.

These kinds of gazes were already second nature to her.

But… Chen Sia didn’t care.

Because she had been acknowledged by someone she considered the truest hero.

‘You will surely become a hero loved by everyone.’

When I grasped that maturely smiling hand, I pledged to never stop dreaming about becoming a hero.

Recollecting the bright, radiant light shown by Leo, Chen Sia raised her aura while holding the Book of Shadows.

Oooom!

Chen Sia approached Emio with an Aura Step.

Seeing this aggressive charge, Emio smirked and evaded using the Fly magic.

“Brute force.”

Chen Sia’s attacks continued.

Emio kept dodging her while simultaneously casting magic spells.

“I have greater mobility, Chen Sia!”

Emio smirked.

“No hunter is easier to catch than a reckless knight!”

With that thought, he continued bombarding her with attack spells.

“Fire Bolt.”

Hooorrr-!

“Wind Cutter.”

Swishhhh-!

“Magic Missile.”

Having combined all three spells, Emio adjusted their power and targets before activating the magic.

Kwagagagagggak-!

Dozens of fiery blade explosions covered Chen Sia.

She gracefully moved her body, avoiding everything as if dancing beautifully.

Seeing her fluidly evade all the attacks, Emio’s face contorted.

“d*mn you!”

As Emio was about to cast a more powerful spell,

Chen Sia jumped into the air and threw a dagger.

“Hmph, how could I possibly be hit by such a crude attack…?”

Pik-!

At that moment,

Emio felt a stinging sensation on his cheek.

As Chen Sia, who seemed to be falling, stood lightly in mid-air as if stepping on an invisible floor.

With a stony face, Emio hurriedly chanted a spell.

“Search.”

With mana gathering in his eyes, he perceived the invisible threads spider-webbing around the area and immediately wore a look of astonishment.

“How… When…!”

“I told you that the results wouldn’t change even if this was your advantageous battlefield.”

Chen Sia smiled.

“It would indeed be possible to catch Emio, as Celia or Duran might do in a direct assault, but that’s not my style of fighting. So, I set a trap.”

“Cowardly…”

“Emio, strange words come from your mouth. I’m the one who intruded deep into the enemy’s heart. Isn’t that more courageous—and less cowardly?”

With a cheerful smile, Chen Sia stretched out her right hand.

Ding!

“Kuh!”

An invisible thread wrapped around Emio’s neck.

“Well, maybe this wouldn’t have worked on Abad or Chelsea, but…”

“Hahaha, it’s ridiculous. You think you can overcome me with such a flimsy thread…?”

Suddenly, Emio felt dizzy.

“Spiders…”

Chen Sia whispered.

“They bite their caught prey to inject venom and then eat them.”

Having said that, Chen Sia mimicked a biting motion in the air and winked.

“Scary?”

Though extremely innocent and cute, at this moment, she was eerily unsettling.

“Thi…Ch!”

Watching Emio turn dizzy, Chen Sia grinned and pulled the thread.

The light on his bracelet disappeared instantly.

Seeing Emio subdued in the blink of an eye, the Department of Magic students watching the situation shouted.

“We’re ready to fight too!”

Uuuum!

Golems created as Guardians appeared from everywhere.

“Prepare yourselves!”

“I don’t know why you came here… But no matter how skilled you are, there’s no way you’ll survive if we all attack at once, Chen Sia!”

From various locations, hostile voices rose one after another.

Smiling broadly after observing the students,

“Cloé anticipated that Noble and Harmony would launch a joint attack and thus assigned Lord Leo the mission to intercept enemies attacking the rear.”

Chen Sia retracted her aura.

“I’m responsible for infiltrating into other dormitory bases to gather intelligence.”

All of this was possible because of Chen Sia, the Shadow.

“So…”

Chen Sia narrowed her eyes.

“Where’s Kal?”

At this, the faces of the Noble students stiffened momentarily.

Chen Sia’s sharp gaze brightened.

“Abad had an interesting thought, didn’t he?”

One female Noble student blurted out, startled by Chen Sia’s words.

“No! It’s not what you’re thinking…!”

‘You idiot!’

‘How bad is it coming out of your own mouth!’

Desperate shouts erupted from the Noble students as they clutched their heads.

*

Celia gripped her sword tightly and charged toward the Gloria fortress wall.

Hrrrr-!

Sinister flames swirled around Celia’s sword.

Kwagagagagang!

Simultaneously with the red glow, the fiery blade crashed against Gloria’s fortress wall.

“What kind of knight is that?”

“Completely like a siege weapon!”

“Isn’t she even a magician?”

The Gloria students, who were defending against the Harmony attacks, cried out in alarm.

Even if defending from the stronghold is overwhelmingly advantageous, currently, only Cloé was defending the Gloria stronghold. Consequently, each time the dormitory leaders Celia and Abad attacked, the fortress wall nearly crumbled.

“Why isn’t Warden coming back? According to Chelsea, both Duran and Eliza from Noble haven’t returned either…”

Celia frowned.

“Is he dealing with Leo?”

As Celia was contemplating,

Hrrrr-! Huuuk-!

The flames surrounding Celia dispersed in all directions.

And as Celia shivered momentarily,

Thud- Thud-

Someone emerged through the flames.

Celia’s startled look intensified as she recognized the opponent’s face.

“Leo?”

Celia’s expression became cautious.

After observing this cousin of hers, Leo spoke.

“Hmm, now that I think about it…”

“…”

“Have we ever fought seriously?”

Watching Leo’s mature smile, Celia felt every hair on her body stand on end.