The ranger hurriedly and briefly described the situation to the knight. 

“There’s a huge disturbance in the troll’s habitat right now!”

“So suddenly? But there weren’t any special problems when we got here, right?” 

“Hoo… My unit said that some things seemed to have moved into the trolls’ territory so there’s quite a lot of confusion over there right now.” 

The knight looked both shocked and perplexed when he heard the ranger’s words. 

“Where did they come from?” 

“They’re presumed to have come from the Black Forest. It seems like the monsters came over from that place and are now causing a stir in the troll’s territory.”

The knight felt flustered when he heard their assumption. As soon as the word ‘Black Forest’ came out, he immediately realized that the situation was much more serious than what he had initially thought.

“Then… are you still investigating the cause?”

“Yes, that’s right. I think we’ll be dispatched as soon as we send the children back.”

“I understand. We’ll prepare to retreat right away.”

The knight immediately agreed with the ranger as he beckoned to the children. 

“Speaking of the Black Forest… Did that guy die or something?”

The ranger shook his head. 

“We don’t know what happened. But we’re sure that it’s still alive. That divine beast is ranked at the top so he’s not going to be killed by just a few monsters, right?”

“That might be true but…”

The Black Forest occupied the smallest area in the vicinity of the academy. However, no high-leveled monster could invade that place easily because of the divine beast that nested there. 

The moniker ‘Two Moons’ had been given to the divine beast that rested there after someone witnessed monsters dying when two round lights shone brightly in the darkness of the Black Forest. Even a master level figure had admitted that he couldn’t move comfortably and safely in its territory.

So monsters fleeing from its territory meant that the divine beast had encountered some problems. This was a phenomenon that suggested a possibility of a massive monster war over the Black Forest. 

“Where’s number 1?”

“He left in a hurry. He said that he was going somewhere for a while.”

“What?”

The knight was shocked and freaked out when he heard the answer of one of the students. He quickly turned to run and find Jaiden. Even the ranger next to him turned to move. But then, the bushes suddenly rustled.

“You, where…!”

Just as he was about to let out a barrage of words in a fit of temper, the knight saw a wounded owl in Jaiden’s arms. But what was stranger was the little bird sitting on top of Jaiden’s head. 

“You… what’s that?”

“I’ll explain it later.” 

Jaiden was aware of the urgency of the situation so he dismissed the explanation for later. The knight just sighed as he continued to gather the rest of the children together. 

“The mission has ended. We’re going back to the academy right now.” 

“Are we going to throw away the trolls’ bodies?” 

The knight nodded resolutely. 

“That’s right.” 

“Move out.” 

The rangers immediately moved forward to clear the way after the knight's signal for retreat. More than 300 students moved back towards the academy with the knights and the rangers.

Perhaps it was because of the urgency of the situation, but they were able to move quickly and arrive at the academy’s safe zone. 

“From here on out, please lead the way. I think we need to move out right now.” 

“I understand.” 

The senior knight bade farewell to the officer leading the rangers as he led the children on a familiar path back to the academy.

“Go back to your dormitories and prepare. The 4th year ‘cadets’ will gather here again in full armor.”

As soon as the children arrived, the professors took them over from the knights and asked them to gather again the soonest time possible.

Gathering them as ‘cadets’ and not as students of the military academy meant that they were asked to engage in actual combat.

Some of the students immediately noticed the meaning of their words so their faces hardened. As the atmosphere surrounding them turned tense. 

“Hoo… I have finished giving first aid, take care of it first for me.”

―Tweet!

Baepsae flapped its tiny wings as it patted its chest proudly. The bird looked like it was telling Jaiden not to worry about a thing. Jaiden patted Baepsae’s tiny head with his finger as he fully armed himself before running down to the training grounds. 

Not long after, the professors arrived in front of the more than 300 fully armed students. 

“From now on, we will be assigning you to groups that will defend the academy. There’s a high possibility that medium and large sized monsters will come out, so you will be in charge of delaying them and keeping them in check. Do you understand?”

“Yes!”

“Don’t let your vigilance down and keep your heads up. This is an actual battle. That’s all.”

As soon as the professor’s words ended, the children were swiftly divided into groups and assigned a knight before going to the region that they were assigned to. Just like they did during their practical training earlier. 

Jaiden also moved in the academy with the knight assigned to accompany him and his group. 

As they walked forward, they suddenly heard the loud thumping of drum beats from somewhere near the academy’s safe zone.

Boom! Boom! Boom! 

“This… no way…”

Jaiden and the knight looked at each other. Both of their faces were colored in shock and horror. The knight immediately informed the children of the seriousness of the situation. 

“Fall back! This is not something you can handle!”

“If we fall back from here then everything will be over.”

“We don’t have a choice. This drumming sound is the sound that the trolls will make if they’re preparing for a massive war! If you try to stop them here then you’ll be exterminated.”

Jaiden agreed with the knight’s assessment but it was also true that they did not have any chance of holding out before the support troops came if they decided to retreat from this place. 

“Wouldn’t it be better for us to stop it here if we know that the command will send us support troops?”

“If the Black Forest had been breached… The time that it would take for the command to send support troops will take around 30 minutes to 1 hour. Do you think you’ll be able to hold out and stay here for that amount of time?”

Jaiden's face turned solemn as he looked down at the knight’s question. It seemed like the conversation between the knight and Jaiden during their training had now come to reality. 

“You guys need to retreat first.”

Hearing the knight’s words, Jaiden had no choice but to step back. If there really were large trolls coming, then they would be nothing more than a distraction. They might have stood a chance if the tactical method that he had proposed had been perfectly trained by the students but as it stood now, they were nothing more than a distraction. 

Aware of the situation, the children hurriedly ran back to the academy with fear staining their faces. Once all of the children had entered the academy, a defensive line was formed. However, it was not only the knights that stood to defend the academy, even the professors took arms. 

“Did they think that we can't protect this place?” 

 “Do you think we have any other choice right now?” 

One of the students burst out in anger. However, 3rd year’s number 1, who was now 4th year’s number 3, spoke with a frown.

They needed to be at least at the 3rd Stage to deal proper damage to a troll. However, even then, they would only be considered lucky if they successfully landed a blow.

One’s breath could easily be taken away in a fight against a troll. And if they wanted to at least stand a chance to fight, then they needed to have that much power. But even with that power they still had to be prepared to lose their lives.

The problem was that none of them had reached the 3rd Stage yet. 

“There’s something we can do.” 

“What?” 

“There is.” 

Jaiden answered number 3’s question firmly. It seemed like he had a definite answer to his question. Number 3’s expression distorted as he glared at him.

“As long as we set up bombs and keep them in check with our guns, then we can buy some time just like before.” 

“There will be more problems if we go out and die for nothing! This is the time for us to stay still!” 

Number 3’s words made sense. However, that was only possible if the support troops from the Northeast Command came quickly. 

“That’s true. However… if large trolls really come in droves, then all the professors and the knights standing on that defense line will die and get exterminated even before the support troops arrive.” 

“That’s not what’s happening right now.” 

“Trolls will only drum if they’re going in a massive war.” 

Number 3’s expression hardened when he heard Jaiden’s words. Even the other students’ faces stiffened. They all knew this fact. 

“Even the rangers that monitored the situation every month felt flustered and baffled. I’m pretty sure the Command is also in a frenzy by this sudden situation too. And if we add on the probability of the Black Forest being breached, then our situation is much more than special… It's dangerous. And it seems to be much more dangerous than what we had initially thought.” 

“So? What do we have to do now?” 

Hearing Jaiden’s words, number 2 asked him firmly. She looked like she had already made up her mind. The severity of the situation had all dawned on them and it was time for them to step up so they could survive. Even number 3 was biting his lips as he looked at Jaiden. 

“Just like I said before, we should concentrate on buying time. Fortunately, all of us are in the 2nd Stage.” 

They were the 4th year students that rose through the toughest ranking battle in the history of the academy so all of the students had reached or almost reached the peak of the 2nd Stage.

In other words, they would be able to temporarily strengthen their bodies and move quickly even with their eyes closed. Especially the elites at the top 30. All of them were able to infuse their swords with a bit of mana even if it was just hazy. 

Although the power that would go to waste was large since they have still yet to reach the 3rd Stage, the strength of those at the top of their year was more than enough to target the weaknesses of the trolls if they timed their attacks well. 

“Is that all? Just shooting and running away?” 

“Yeah. But it’s not like there’s no way for us to attack and kill the trolls by ourselves.” 

Number 2 couldn’t help but shake her head when she heard Jaiden’s words.

“How can we even attack the trolls when we’re not yet in the 3rd Stage?” 

“In fact, the armpits and groin area had thick skin so it’s quite hard for us to inflict fatal injuries with our strength. But there’s one and only one place where we could inflict damage with our strength. From me to number 30, that is.” 

The students looked at him curiously, waiting for the end of Jaiden’s words.

“The anus.” 

“What?” 

“The tissues surrounding the troll’s anus are weak and fragile. It might be covered by their thick butt but if we can make the troll fall down on the ground, then we can just stick our sword straight through their anus. And the effect will be greater if we coat our swords with poison.” 

Some of the students frowned when they heard Jaiden’s words. They looked like they were a bit upset at the thought of having to target a troll’s anus. However, they would be stupid if they cared about something like this when they were already on the verge of death. 

Bang!

Boom! Boom! Boom! 

Jaiden looked at the children and asked them as soon as a huge explosion and the loud banging of the trolls’ drums rang loudly in the area.

“What are you going to do?”

Hearing Jaiden’s question, the children began to check their armor. They had checked the bombs, guns and weapons strapped on their bodies. They deemed themselves to be well and fully armed. In addition, there were emergency supplies and boxes filled with ammunition and bombs in one corner of the training grounds.

“Let’s do it. Just like you said, we’ll either wait for our deaths or fight to our deaths.”

“Right.”

“Good! Let’s do it! I think we can kill at least a few trolls.”

The children pumped their fists in confidence after hearing Jaiden’s confident words. While the children were cheering themselves up, Jaiden heard number 2 mumbling softly beside him.

“Anus… Anus…”

“Hmm… Number 2?”

Jaiden looked at number 2 worriedly since she was acting a bit strange. Seeing his worried expression, she hurriedly came back to her senses as she ran after the other children who went to the main entrance of the academy. 

When they got there, they saw the knights and the professors fighting all over the place. Wizards were rare in the Northeast so they only had one in their ranks. But even that was a huge boost to their strengths.

The beast theory professor kept the trolls in check with his magic while the knights and the other professors dealt a killing blow.

However, the trolls were also using sorcery so the defense line was gradually falling behind and being pushed back.  

“Listen well. From now on, all you guys have to do is install enough bombs to blow up the academy’s main gate.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if we maintain the main gate?”

Jaiden shook his head firmly at number 127’s question. 

The main gate was quite large so it could keep the trolls at bay for a while. However, Jaiden believed that the main gate would only hold out against them for a few minutes. If that was the case, then he’d rather maximize its use and turn it into a trap. 

“Once you're done installing the traps, gather back here. We have to buy time for the professors and the knights to come inside and retreat.”

The children nodded their heads and dispersed to follow his orders. 

‘The Northeast’s destruction… Was it at this time of the year?’

Jaiden watched the children scampering around to fulfil their missions. Then, he looked at the trolls that were flocking like dogs with a solemn look. 

He believed that protecting the academy was important for the Northeast to remain standing and not get destroyed like his previous life. That was the only way that he would be safe until his military life was over.

In order for him to live and guarantee his safety, he must protect this academy. And to do that, he would do everything that he could right here and now.

― There will be a drastic increase in rewards upon clearance of the quest due to the increase in difficulty.

― Protect the owl by keeping the academy safe. Upon clearing, you will receive clues related to an additional divine beast contract.

― You will be able to receive additional titles if you keep the academy safe. Perfectly defend against the trolls’ raid.

Jaiden sucked in a breath when the mechanical voice suddenly rang loudly in his head.

It seemed like there was no reason for him to slack off after receiving such a wonderful boost to his cause.

With high expectations about the new title that he would receive and the second divine beast that he could contract, Jaiden immediately used his brain to the limit as he thought of ways to completely prevent the monsters’ attack.

***

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