At the same time—
The battle at the temporary storage site was growing more intense by the minute.
Creaaaak—
A blade scraped against Kang Dae-san’s tower shield.
He immediately shoved the shield forward and swung his mace in a wide arc.
Whoooooosh!
With a heavy blow, the Black Faction swordsmen who had been attacking together retreated briefly, then charged again, slashing with their blades.
More wounds appeared in the areas he failed to block, but Kang Dae-san didn’t care. He kept swinging his tower shield and mace relentlessly.
Other disciplinary committee members were also holding the line in their own ways.
If things stayed like this, they might be able to hold out all night. But of course, the enemy wouldn’t allow that.
Whoooooosh!
Suddenly, a magic arrow as thick as a pillar flew in from somewhere and struck a committee member.
The huge impact sent him flying backward, tumbling several times before he lost consciousness.
Whoooooosh—!
Another ballista bolt crashed down toward a different member’s head.
He barely managed to block it with superhuman reflexes, but the recoil momentarily left him stiff.
The Black Faction swordsmen didn’t miss that opening and slashed at him.
Swoooosh—
The bombardment continued to pour in.
Even though the source seemed impossibly far away, the accuracy was terrifying. Like it had been fired from point-blank range.
The timing of the attacks was also spot-on, and one by one, the disciplinary committee members began to fall.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before they were overrun and the temporary storage site was lost.
“……”
Silently watching the scene was a girl wearing a bamboo hat.
She hadn’t moved a single step from her spot since the beginning.
Her gaze slowly dropped downward. She looked into the green cube in her hand, then tucked it away into her robes again.
Hwang Dam-bi and the archery club president would have no reason to enter the temporary storage site. So instead, they had been entrusted with the Cube of Life.
Soon, they would surely extract the prohibited items hidden inside.
But then it happened.
Creaaaaaak…
A wooden door suddenly sprouted in the middle of the battlefield.
Everyone’s attention turned toward it.
Kang Dae-san sighed inwardly.
Of all places…
Considering the distance between the disciplinary committee room and the downtown area, it was only natural for there to be some margin of error. But couldn’t they at least have placed it inside a building or something?
Grumbling internally, he sprinted at full speed toward the wooden door.
The other committee members and the Black Faction swordsmen all dropped everything else and made the door their top priority.
“Protect it!”
“Block it!”
“Destroy it!”
“Smash it!”
In the middle of a battlefield thrown into utter chaos, Kang Dae-san barreled forward.
But his eyes weren’t on the wooden door. They were fixed elsewhere.
Far off in the distance, from a pitch-black void, a blue glint had appeared.
A tiny speck that rapidly grew to the size of a pillar as it shot through the air.
The ballista had fired again.
If it hit, the wooden door would be obliterated on impact.
I have to stop it.
Kang Dae-san activated every defensive skill he had and planted himself in front of the door, bracing behind his tower shield.
The next moment, a crushing impact struck him.
Baaaaaang—!
“……!”
His whole body went numb and his vision blurred, but he still hadn’t fallen.
Using even the last of his strength, he swung his mace.
The swordsmen dodged lightly and prepared to thrust their blades.
Just then, the wooden door swung wide open, and a dark figure burst out.
Boom!
The figure that sent the swordsmen flying was none other than—
A gorilla in armor.
It was connected by a glowing thread of light to the male student who followed behind it.
It was one of the skills from the Beast Tamer class.
Kang Dae-san scolded with a sarcastic tone.
“You sure took your sweet time.”
“Apologies, senior. As you know, there’s been a lot to manage.”
The student replied with a playful grin.
He was implying that they couldn’t commit their full strength earlier since they also had to defend the other temporary storage sites.
In other words, now they could.
Starting with him, a flood of disciplinary committee members surged out from the wooden door and quickly overwhelmed the Black Faction swordsmen.
The tide of battle, which had been tipping against them, reversed in an instant.
“……”
For the first time, the girl in the bamboo hat took a step forward, slowly making her way toward the battlefield.
Kang Dae-san and several other third-year disciplinary committee members turned their eyes toward her.
“So she finally makes a move.”
She was stepping in before the momentum could completely turn against her side.
Despite it being just one additional opponent, a sharp tension swept through the committee members.
The girl before them, though rarely seen in public action, was considered one of the most formidable enemies. She was on par with the likes of Oh Se-hoon and Song Cheon-gi.
Step by step, she approached.
Then suddenly, her figure seemed to stretch unnaturally forward—
And in a blink, she was right in front of the gorilla, thrusting her sword.
The thick chestplate of the armored beast caved in, and its huge body was launched backward like a projectile, crashing into the ground.
Boom—!
Her form warped and flickered again as she danced across the battlefield.
Then she stood still at its very center.
With her sword lowered, she reached out with her empty hand and brushed the air.
A wave of overwhelming killing intent swept across the disciplinary committee members.
Whooooooooooosh—!
“Guh…!”
“Aaagh!”
The girl in the bamboo hat spun lightly on her heel—
An axe-shaped burst of energy barely grazed past, missing by a hair’s breadth.
The Hell Axe student who had been charging in behind came to an abrupt halt and quickly retreated.
Boom!
A thick magic arrow crashed down from above.
In the brief moment when the ballista disrupted the disciplinary committee’s momentum, the girl in the bamboo hat surged forward once again, her figure stretching unnaturally.
A supreme movement technique, a tyrannical aura, and swift ferocious sword movement.
Boooom—!
Another committee member went down.
Any attempt at a joint counterattack was quickly disrupted by interference from the ballista.
Kang Dae-san frowned and muttered to himself.
They’re ridiculously annoying when working together like this.
If they could take out even one side, things would become at least slightly more manageable.
***
Dang Gyu-young and I moved quickly, feet flying as we closed in on our destination.
But just before we arrived, Chae Da-bin’s voice came through the communicator.
– The drone’s been spotted. I’m sending out another one.
“Really? Think they’ll relocate soon?”
– Considering they just set up, they might stay longer. But just in case, be carefu—
Before we could even finish hearing the warning, we dove to either side.
Right where we had been standing just moments ago, a thick magic arrow slammed into the ground.
Booooom—!
Immediately, we sensed movement all around us, and Black Faction swordsmen burst forth.
So they set a trap for us instead.
It was likely that the ballista teams were staying in close contact with one another.
They’d definitely heard that Unit 3 had been taken down. It would’ve been stranger if they hadn’t prepared.
They’re trying to pick us off one group at a time.
Our search teams moved in small, widely spread groups whereas the enemy stuck together in full squads.
It was a calculated move on their part, and not an unreasonable one.
Swiieeek!
Swords lunged at me from three directions at once, aiming to encircle.
And while not launched from a ballista, a few arrows came flying in as well.
Predicting exactly where I would try to dodge.
Now’s not the time to conserve skills.
Swish…
I slipped free from their offensive using Ghost Dance while pulling my fist back all the way past my shoulder.
Then I unleashed the roaring flame directly.
Whooooooooosh—!
A blazing storm of fire exploded outward.
However, as if everyone had expected it, most managed to dodge in time. Only a few got caught in the blast.
A Black Faction figure at the front quickly closed the distance and swung down a huge blade.
I dodged slightly and caught a glimpse of his face. It was surprisingly familiar.
It was none other than second-year Mak Dae-wong.
He glared at me and said,
“Inferno Fist. I’ve heard the rumors.”
“……”
“Seeing how you teamed up with the Thieves’ Club, I figured you prioritized profit. So what wind blew you into joining the Disciplinary Committee?”
Right now, I was disguised using the [Totem of Disguise].
Responding to him like a senior would only increase the risk of being exposed.
So I just scoffed and replied,
“What a stupid question. Obviously, it’s because it benefits me.”
“Maybe you picked the wrong people to deal with. Whatever the case, we would’ve given you a better deal.”
Already got one.
From you guys and senior Dam-bi. A lot, in fact.
But I couldn’t bring that up, so I scoffed again.
“There are things only the Disciplinary Committee can offer.”
“Are you talking about worthless ideals like order and justice? I’m disappointed.”
It’s the Qyu-Qyu slot and club funding rights, actually.
Without letting anything show on my face, I answered arrogantly.
“If you can’t think of anything clever to say, don’t strain yourself. That’s your limit, after all.”
“…Your tone is irritating. Feels like I’ve met you somewhere before.”
Mak Dae-wong narrowed his eyes and stared at me.
But it seemed he was far from figuring out the truth; he didn’t seem to notice anything.
Then, with a flash of determination, he declared,
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll just beat it out of you.”
“You that confident?”
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Do you think you have a chance against us?”
creeeech—!
Just as he said, Dang Gyu-young and I were being pushed hard, barely managing to dodge.
Each of us had four or five swordsmen on us, and every now and then, support fire would come flying in from the ballista unit.
Should we just run?
With a single Blink, these slowpokes wouldn’t stand a chance.
Then we just drag in the stronger senior members of the Disciplinary Committee and flatten them. Simple as that.
Just as I was about to give Dang Gyu-young a signal—
Whoooosh—
Something came flying through the night sky.
It was a hammer, glowing white.
It dropped right into the middle of the Black Faction swordsmen.
Boom—!
The ground erupted and shockwaves rippled out.
This time, two white hammers came flying in.
Dang Gyu-young snatched one out of the air and swung it straight at the swordsman in front of her.
Whack!
Then she muttered to herself,
“…Nice and heavy.”
Just for today, she’s not Bat Gyu-young…she’s Hammer Gyu-young.
Or Ham-Qyu for short.
But the swordsmen weren’t looking at me or Ham-Qyu.
Their attention was locked on the direction the hammer had flown in from.
A third-year Black Faction member guessed,
“A hammer… is that Oh Se-hoon?”
“That’s right. It’s me.”
Oh Se-hoon stepped forward, wearing a gentle smile.
He glanced around the scene and spoke in a calm, almost coaxing tone.
“It’d be great if you could stop here and come with us. The other ballista will be taken care of soon. No need to waste your strength and get hurt, right?”
“It’s already too late to turn back, senior.”
The one who answered wasn’t the third-year or Mak Dae-wong, but a Black Faction member who had been standing to the side, observing.
He seemed like a second-year, but the pressure he gave off was almost at a president’s level.
His skill likely reached just below Namgong Chang-cheon’s.
He continued,
“Better to fail than to retreat halfway. No matter what the result is, we intend to see this through.”
“That’s your own opinion, huh?”
“It’s everyone’s resolve.”
“I see. I’ll respect that.”
Oh Se-hoon nodded and began to float the glowing hammers around him one by one.
In response, the Black Faction swordsmen all shifted into battle stance.
In that moment, one of the hammers spun through the air—
Boom—!
—and collided with a flying mana arrow.
It had precisely intercepted a shot from the ballista.
As the swordsmen hardened their expressions, Oh Se-hoon smiled lightly and spoke with complete composure.
“Shall we begin?”
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