I Became A Third-Rate Villain In The Hero Academy
chapter-281

The battle between the robot troops, the paladin order, and the forces I had called over unfolded before my eyes.

Especially noteworthy were the robot troops, which, under the command of their leader, used organic tactics and strategies like those of the paladin order.

Despite the chaotic situation involving a large number of combatants, reinforcements were being deployed to areas about to be breached or that could potentially be penetrated.

'Seeing it in person is even more chilling.'

The robot troops, once you looked past their exterior, were practically indistinguishable from the paladins.

In the game, Neike summoned hundreds of elven warriors from the great forest to counter the robot troops.

These elven warriors, having trained in the forest for hundreds of years, had no weak members among them.

In terms of sheer combat power, each one was at least the power of a higher ranking hero.

In other words, the force of hundreds of elven warriors was powerful enough to shake the continental power structure.

With a capable commander and the support of artifacts and magic, even a dragon raid was feasible.

'Robots really do break the balance.'

They needed to be nipped in the bud quickly.

...After a brief contemplation.

I dashed towards the rear of the robot troops, aiming for the robot commander visible at the edge of my sight.

The robots knew what was important.

As soon as they recognized me, the ones near the robot commander positioned themselves in front of it.

Upon reaching them, I lowered my body and swung my sword horizontally.

I didn't put much strength into it, but with a single slash, I severed the ankles of the robots guarding the commander.

Robots, being magical life forms modeled after humans, cannot stand properly without one of their ankles, no matter how strong they might be.

Thud, thud-thud!

The robots, having lost their ankles, lost their balance and collapsed to the ground.

"...Phew."

I pressed on, thrusting my sword towards the commander.

My sword didn't reach the commander.

Thunk!

It only managed to pierce the hearts of three robots.

The nearby robots had thrown themselves to protect the commander.

As I was pulling out my deeply embedded sword, dozens of robots positioned themselves in front of the commander.

They aimed their weapons at me but didn't rush forward.

"...Hmm."

It seemed difficult to break through this wall of robots and strike the commander.

But that's okay.

My initial goal wasn't to strike down the commander anyway.

'To cause chaos in the robot troops.'

Until then, they only had to focus on the paladin order in front.

But now, they had to be wary of me in their rear.

Just one person was disrupting the entire command structure of the troop. An extremely cost-effective strategy.

The robots must have been quite confused.

'I don't know if robots can feel emotions.'

I continued to cut down the robots blocking the path to the commander.

After about 15 robots were slashed, they began to clumsily block my sword.

The robots' real-time adaptation was expected. That's why I hadn't used any buffs like [Overload] or [Haste] at all.

Using all buffs here would be amateurish.

Robots adapt to their opponent.

If I used all my buffs, I could inflict significant damage on them.

'At least 50 units would be cut down.'

However, that would drastically accelerate the robots' growth rate.

Therefore, I planned to use the weaker buffs one by one, in order.

Suddenly, I recalled what Neike once said:

─True martial prowess grows in a stepwise fashion.

The robots were undergoing stepwise growth. It felt as though I had become the master of the robots.

But it's okay. All robots will disappear from this continent today anyway.

'...Be destroyed or overcome. Which will it be for you?'

I activated the weakest buff, [Haste], and started cutting down the robots again.

Piel, who was fighting robots at the front, sensed something was off.

"Hmm, have their numbers suddenly dropped? Or is it just me?"

"We can't see their rear, but it looks like it. The number and frequency of incoming arrows have significantly decreased."

Taylor, who was nearby, responded.

Then, Aisha, who was in the back row, shouted loudly.

"Theo's here! He's cutting down the robots from behind! He's already taken down more than 30 units by himself!"

Thanks to her trait [Sharp Eyesight], she could see very far.

Commander Croc grinned widely and exclaimed,

"Push harder, everyone! A mere first-year student from the academy has taken down more than 30 units! Shall we be disgraced like this?"

His shout greatly boosted the morale of the troops.

The paladins, with venom in their eyes, swung their weapons and yelled,

"Damn it! Even if Theo was chosen by a divine artifact, I've been rolling in battlefields for nearly 10 years!"

"We can't disgrace our order! Ahhhhh──!!"

Unlike beasts, humans can proactively challenge their limits.

Beasts only exert effort in urgent situations when their lives are at risk.

However, humans sometimes whip their tired bodies and minds even when their life isn't in immediate danger.

This was one of those times.

The paladins had already reached their physical and mental limits.

But inspired by the actions of a first-year academy student, they decided to challenge their limits.

"Die! You miserable beings!"

"We'll send you back to hell!"

The fierce momentum of the paladins engulfed the robot troops.

The robots couldn't adapt to the suddenly strengthened paladins.

The paladins, overexcited with an adrenaline rush, resembled berserkers.

Shortly after.

Swish!

Theo decapitated the robot commander. It was an elegant movement, leaving only the traces of Chalon's swordsmanship.

The head of the robot commander rolled on the ground.

The battle was over.

The paladins raised their weapons above their heads and cheered,

"Woooooah──!! We won! We've overcome this trial too!"

"Long live Theo! You were like a practitioner of Light!"

The Practitioners of Light were known as the last bastion of the Order.

Wrapped in mystery, their exact details are unknown, but the members of the order regard them as the epitome of strength.

Theo's companions rushed over to him.

Piel patted Theo on the back and said,

"Wow... Aren't you something? You've become a completely different person. Your swordsmanship is similar yet different from mine."

Neike and Irene chimed in.

"Piel's not exaggerating at all. It was clean and sharp. Theo, show us again when you get the chance. I want to learn it."

"Your movements were beautiful. Have you created a new swordsmanship technique again?"

After wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, Theo opened his mouth.

"Everyone worked hard. Since every minute and second is precious, let's save our celebrations for later."

"Theooooo~!! Why did you come so late! Do you know how much I missed you? It's so unfair, so unfair, so unfair~!"

Theo dodged Siena, who was trying to hug him, with a light step and turned his gaze to Jang Woohee.

Jang Woohee was silently staring at Theo from a distance.

Theo called out to Jang Woohee.

"Follow me, Jang Woohee. It's time to fulfill the promise I made to you."

Jang Woohee approached Theo silently like a cat.

Theo then spoke to the others.

"I'll be stepping away for a moment. There may be additional robot troops arriving soon, but please, do not engage them directly, only hold them off. Amy, come with me as well."

"Branch Headm you should join us too."

With that, Theo left the scene with Jang Woohee, Amy, and Taylor.

Siena tried to follow Theo but was grabbed by the hair by Aisha.

It all happened in a flash.

The remaining members blankly stared in the direction they had left.

Piel, puzzledly, said to his companions,

"What the hell just happened...? Did anyone catch that?"

Irene and Seria responded.

"...No. I'd like to know as well."

"Heh, if it's Theo, he must have his reasons. Surely, he isn't going to meet a girl in a situation like this."

"...Seria, don't say such irreverent things. Theo isn't such a beast. Surely, he's not going to meet a girl."

"I hope that's the case."

Irene and Seria nodded, seemingly trying to quell the unease in their hearts.

Inside the command center of [Ford Company], Thomas was staring at the crystal ball with eyes wide in shock.

"This is... unbelievable."

The second robot troop, expected to inflict significant damage, had only managed to reduce the number of paladins by a handful.

He was well aware that the dynamics of the entire battle had been disrupted because of just one boy.

But he didn't want to believe it.

"It won't do. We'll deploy all remaining robots to push them back, if necessary."

Thomas had no intention of introducing more variables into the situation.

However, the subordinate responsible for feedback had not yet returned.

"...Hmm."

Thomas picked up the communication crystal with uneasy hands.

The call signal went out five times, but his subordinate did not answer.

'Usually, they would have answered by the third call at the latest.'

Just as Thomas was about to attempt to contact his subordinate again,

Kooooom──!

The entrance door was split in two.

The entrance had been forcibly breached.