Chapter 398: Monarch (6)

Rashya looked at Helik waddling back with her arms full of candy and snacks with a pitiful gaze. "Helik..."

"

Mm...?

Ah!

" Only then did Helik remember her mission and carefully set the snacks down on the ground. "I’ll go back."

"Okay... good luck."

Leaving Rashya’s encouragement behind, Helik ran back toward the group of students.

"Hey! The snacks aren’t what’s important right now!" As Helik shouted, everyone turned to look at her. "I meant to say to stop this nonsense. What do you think you’re doing? What did these kids do wrong?"

"But these punks are from Aldebaran..."

"So?" Helik stared directly at the student who had spoken.

Perhaps because she was a god, the student unconsciously backed down when he met her deep gaze.

"Did they contribute to starting this war? Look at that girl."

Helik pointed at one girl. She was the daughter of a merchant family from Aldebaran and was sniffling while surrounded by nobles from other nations.

"You should all be ashamed." Everyone flinched at Helik’s sharp charisma, despite her small frame. "And didn’t you learn in Professor Prescott’s ethics class? Boong..."

She glanced at Rashya, who mouthed the words clearly, "Boong-woo-yu-shin."

Thank you.

Sending her a grateful look, Helik confidently continued saying, "Boong-woo-yu-shin! There are duties and trust that needs to be kept between friends. Was it just a phrase you memorized for the exam?"

As the small girl scolded them head-on for their wrongdoing, the students finally began to feel ashamed and turned their heads one by one while clearing their throats.

"I mean, we do know that much..."

"

Tsk

, we messed up. We just needed someone to take it out on."

"You should be apologizing to them, not me," Helik replied.

When Helik gestured with her chin, the students scratched the backs of their heads and offered apologies.

"Sorry. That was out of line."

"I didn’t think it through."

"We accept your apologies..."

After the dramatic reconciliation, the students even thanked Helik.

"Thanks for scolding us."

"I’ll give you another candy next time."

"

Mmhmm

, as you should."

Rashya approached Helik, who nodded with a proud expression. "Looks like you handled it well."

"Maybe it’s because their minds aren’t fully set yet, but they actually listen when spoken to. The older ones are way more stubborn."

"That sounds totally off coming from you." Rashya giggled and handed Helik back her snacks.

Just then, an explosive sound powerful enough to shake the auditorium thundered across the city.

***

"

Hmm

."

The man staring at the white fortress that looked holy even at a glance was Kun Feng, the third unit leader of the Black Dragon guild.

"Sir, what should we do?"

At his subordinate’s question, Kun Feng fell deep into thought.

I’ll go to Libertia. Lead the third unit and conquer Arkan.

That was the order Xao Lin had given before they parted. He valued Libertia more highly than the mysterious city of Arkan because enslaving demi-humans could be profitable. It was illegal, of course, but it could bring in astronomical amounts of money if it succeeded.

I understand why he went to Libertia, but still...

Kun Feng had no idea what this fortress in front of him was for. There were no soldiers defending it, and only a magical barrier surrounded the entire structure. It was the same defensive shield the merfolk had placed around Kai’s territory after the ambush by Goliath and Sting.

"That strange barrier is much stronger than it looks."

"A spear and a shield, is it?" Kun Feng smirked. "Have you forgotten who we are?"

The Black Dragon guild’s third unit, the Black Bee Unit.

Master really has a wicked sense of humor.

The Black Dragon guild had dozens of units. Except for the first unit, all other units were modeled after other guilds. For example, the second unit Black Warrior Unit, was modeled after the Warriors guild. The third unit clearly took after the old Black Bee guild, and all the units ranked below followed the same pattern.

This project was launched a year and a half ago, right after Xao Lin obtained the hidden class Monarch. He then established the Black Dragon guild and launched a plan to grow multiple guilds under a single umbrella using an absurd number of members. To outsiders, it looked like a single guild, but in reality, there were about twenty guilds operating within it.

They not only benchmarked the most successful major guilds, but also studied their footage and copied their tactics and strategies exactly. That was precisely why the Black Dragon guild grew more powerful as time went on. They copied everything that worked and did it at a massive scale. To their enemies, it could only feel like an overwhelming wall.

"Then shall we start by giving them a big gift?" Kun Feng said and raised a massive wooden staff in his left hand.

It was a staff made by tempering a cursed old tree for several months, and its grade was Unique. On top of that, it had an incredible option that increased spell power by 150 percent, making it his prized possession.

"Fire Ball."

The fireball, a spell learned by almost every fire-element wizard, formed at his fingertips. However, his fireball was different from others. What should have been the size of a baseball began to grow absurdly larger. Soon the fireball became a massive spell five meters in diameter.

"Go."

With a flick of his wrist, the massive fireball shot forward at high speed. The fire orb gained momentum as it flew and crashed straight into the entrance of Arkan’s fortress.

Boom!

The explosion shook the ground with a thunderous roar, but not even a single scorch mark was left on the fortress.

"The barrier is stronger than expected."

Kun Feng smiled. This was going to be a fun fortress to bring down.

***

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The auditorium continuously shook and rumbled. Some students sat huddled on the floor clinging to each other, while others bit their lips in frustration.

An announcement came through the magical amplifier, “The faculty is doing everything possible to stop the current crisis. All students are advised to remain safely in the auditorium.”

"Is this place really safe?"

"Damn it, if this collapses we’re all dead."

"Maybe if we go out and prove our identity we’ll be spared."

As the students began to panic, Helik looked at them with pity and slowly raised her hand. She planned to use divine power to calm their hearts, but Rashya struck her hand with a stern expression.

"No."

"Just a little. Just enough to ease their anxious hearts..."

"I said no."

At her firm refusal, Helik pouted and lowered her hand. "You’re so cold toward humans."

"It’s not that I don’t want to help." Rashya scrunched her nose and said, "But my friend matters more to me than any human. One regret is enough."

Helik had no words to say to that and simply nodded. "

Mm

, it feels a bit overprotective, but I know it’s for my sake, so I understand."

"Thanks for understanding. I hope things calm down soon."

"Yeah, I hope so too."

But contrary to the girls’ hopes, the attacks only grew stronger.

"Hey. Isn’t that louder than before?"

"The rumbling has gotten worse too... What is going on out there?"

The students broke into cold sweat and held their breath. It felt like the moment they exhaled too hard, the bombardment would start again.

The paused announcement played once more. “The High Priest is currently in negotiations with the enemy. Students, please follow the professors and move in an orderly manner to a safer location.”

The auditorium doors opened and the professors rushed in, signaling to the students.

"Come on everyone, gather up!"

"This is the last group, right? No one left behind?"

"Follow closely."

Located in the center of Arkan Academy, the auditorium was large, grand, and considered safe.

But if there’s somewhere even safer than here...

It has to be the temple where the High Priest resides, right?

The faces of the smarter students stiffened. Though the professors noticed, they said nothing and kept silent.

Suddenly, a group of Wizards blocked the path in front of the professors.

"Sir, we’ve found them."

"Yes, they appear to be students and faculty."

Each of them wore the emblem of the Black Dragon on their chest.

Startled by this, the professors stood in front of the students to protect them and watched the intruders cautiously.

"How did you get here...? Where’s the High Priest?"

"

Ah

, don’t worry. The negotiations went smoothly."

"Who said we touched him?"

The Black Dragon guild members responded with smirks.

"But we accidentally blew open the fortress gate before the deal was finalized... So we’ll be staying here for a while to protect the High Priest and the students."

"We know how valuable you all are, so of course we’ll guard and serve you respectfully. We’ll even return you to your homes... Though, of course we’ll ask for a reasonable service fee in the process."

In other words, calling it protection was just a nicer way of saying they were being taken as hostages.

The moment the professors grew angry, another group of wizards walked in.

"Salute to the unit leader."

The Black Dragon guild members spotted the man at the front and greeted him with a fist-and-palm salute.

The man at the front, Kun Feng, counted the number of students and asked, "Is this all the students inside the city?"

"It appears so."

"Fewer than I expected."

"Most of the high-ranking nobles' children seem to have already returned to their home countries."

"As always, the rich ones are the first to run."

Kun Feng’s subordinates laughed at his joke.

"You’re making a serious mistake..." the sociology professor quietly warned.

"

Hm?

" It was a small murmur, but Kun Feng heard it.

He approached the professor with a slouched posture and asked, "What did you just say?"

"I said you're making a mistake. Do you not realize how many powers across the continent support the Solarian Church? And these students are all nobles from across the lands. You'll surely regret this..."

"Funny how people notice others' mistakes so well but never see their own."

Kun Feng instantly grabbed the professor by the collar and growled.

"

Kugh... kugh!”

"Keep your mouth shut when we still offer to escort you politely. I was only ordered to handle the students and the High Priest. No one said anything about bothering with you professors."

"

Cough, cough!

"

The professor, flung to the ground, gasped for breath.

"Professor!"

The first to rush forward were Helik and Rashya.

Helik shouted as she glared at Kun Feng, "Do you not even know how to respect your elders?"

"I do. That’s why I stopped at a warning. Otherwise..." He slowly traced his thumb across his neck in a slicing motion. "So if you want to make it home safely, little miss, you’d better do what we say. Got it?"

Kun Feng reached out to pat Helik’s head, but Helik slapped his hand away.

"Do not touch my head without permission."

There were very few who had her permission to do so, and among humans, only one.

"

Hah

, you’re kind of cute, young lady."

Feeling humiliated in front of his subordinates, Kun Feng reached his hand out again.

"

Huh?

"

But something was off. The hand reaching out wouldn’t go any farther.

"Did you not hear her?"

At the same time, a chilling voice from a third party echoed near Kun Feng’s ear. And even colder than that voice was the sensation that began to paralyze his arm. Everyone else felt nothing, but only his teeth began to clatter as an unknown cold crept up. It was a horrifying chill, like plunging into a frozen lake in the middle of winter.

"She told you not to touch her."

Kun Feng’s entire left arm froze solid.