<h4>Chapter 231 – The Night Battle Starts</h4>


    Jarazack’s Alexei sent fifty men raring to fight as reinforcements for ude, but ten days had passed since their arrival and nothing happened, resulting in boredom. These men, by nature, loved being rough.


    「Hey, Ivan. We’re heading out.」


    「Head out? Where?」


    「ording to the Adventurers Guild, monsters are appearing at the outskirts. We’re going hunting.」


    「What?! You can’t do that!」


    「It’s fine. Thirty men will stay behind. Three groups of ten men each will take turns keeping watch, so I’m sure it won’t be a problem. Besides, there’s only ten of those guys in Ludancia’s border, right?」


    「L-Let me talk to Professor Mikhail first, at least—」


    「See ya!」


    「Hey!」


    The man escaped at the mention of Mikhail’s name, presumably because he knew the professor would not allow it.


    「Oh, well...」Ivan muttered.「We could’ve just returned to Jarazack than wait here for nothing too.」


    What the man said was not wrong. There were only about ten men stationed in Ludancia’s border. No matter how skilled the enemies were, Mikhail and the others would know if they entered Schrzard. They could buy time with the barrier around the academy as well. Losing was impossible.


    Mikhail wore a bitter expression when Ivan told him about the men going out, but let it slide anyway. Hikaru was not around; he was in the research building helping Katy out with her experiments. If Ivan told Hikaru about this, it might’ve had a different oue altogether. Monstersing out in this season? Wasn’t that strange?


    Later that night, ude couldn’t sleep. He was in lecture building C. Sleep just wouldn’te when he thought about how Luka was just beyond the partitioning screen. It had been like this the past few days.


    If I told Ivan about this, I’m sure he’ll say something like “Make a move on her and you should be able to sleep right after.” Damn it. I want our rtionship to stay pure until marriage.


    ude held rather outdated mentality for this age. Being a Spirit Elf, his body would stop developing after reaching a certain age and would stay that way as he lived for more than a hundred years. He knew death would separate him from Luka—they were both aware of that. So he wanted to cherish the moments they had together.


    ude heaved a sigh and stepped outside. It was a clear, cloudless sky, and the moon sat high above. A chillier night than normal, it seemed like all creation would freeze over. ude started swinging his sword in hopes that it would make him tired and fall asleep easier.


    Ivan’s staying in the dorm with the men from Jarazack. I bet they’re drinking.


    He suspected that those off-duty might be negligent in their jobs. Rather, he was just jealous of them for having it easy enough that they could drink every day.


    Hikaru is in his home I guess... and Catherine’s staying there too.


    ude couldn’tprehend how Hikaru’s own party member was staying in an inn. So Catherine, Lavia’s friend, stayed in their apartment instead.


    I have no idea what that’s all about... I’m grateful to Hikaru for making me stronger, though.


    He didn’t know how, but his swordsmanship improved remarkably. He even had a four-character ss on his soul card, Sword Dancer. ude didn’t know, of course, that Hikaru configured his Soul Board and as a result, the job ss appeared, making him more skilled overall. He had nothing but gratitude for him.


    「Phew.」


    He stopped swinging. His body temperature was rising. Even with a coat on, steam seemed to be rising up in the air.


    Then all of a sudden, ude thought he heard something, like a ss breaking from far away.


    「.........」


    He strained his ears, but heard nothing.


    「ude?」


    The door opened behind him and he turned around. Luka was standing there.


    「What’s wrong?」she asked.


    「Oh, I can’t sleep, so I was just doing some swings. You’ll catch a cold dressed lightly like that. You should get back inside—」


    ude quickly turned around. Footsteps. No, shouts? He listened carefully. He could hear sounds from afar. No doubt about it. There’s a fight going on.


    「Luka, get inside now! And lock the door!」


    「Wh-What...?」


    ude pushed her inside and started running towards the sounds of fighting, when he noticed three silhouettes heading towards him. They wore traveling clothes, but in their hands were bare des. Not one of them hid their face. The man in front had blue hair and a muscr build. One of the other two at the back had a solid physique, while the other appeared to benky.


    「Stop right there. Who are you people?」


    The three men stopped ten meters away.


    「That blonde hair and red eyes... Are you ude Zahard Kirihal?」


    ude was surprised at first, but he already expected this. These men were after him and Luka. It was clear why they didn’t bother hiding their faces. They came here fully prepared to die, whether they seeded in killing their target or not.


    ude already assumed beforehand that negotiating was not an option against their enemies this time. But he didn’t expect them to hold this much resolve.


    「Good job figuring that out.」ude said.「I thought for sure you’d attack the dorm.」


    「Well, we have someone who can sense people.」the man in front replied.


    Thenky guy gave a shrug. The trap they had set wasn’t entirely effective. ude thought the Jarazack warriors being there made for a good camouge.


    「That sound a while ago. Was that the barrier breaking?」ude asked.


    「Correct. We had some trouble with it, but as long as you know what kind of barrier it is, it’s not that difficult to break.」


    ude let out a grunt. These men examined the type of barrier used. That’s why it took them ten days to make their move. Still, there was one other possibility. One or some of the academy’s admin staff should be from Ludancia and leaked information to the enemy. Preparing to destroy the barrier then took some time.


    「I have one question—」


    「No more talking. We can’t have you buying more time.」


    The man knew what ude was thinking. They were most likely the men stationed in Ludancia’s border. Only few in numbers, they would be aiming to end the fight quick. The one guy who could sense others searched for this ce while using the others as bait. Otherwise, they wouldn’t havee here. ude didn’t have any time to hide.


    How long till reinforcements arrive here? Ten minutes? Twenty?


    A bead of sweat dripped down ude’s forehead. It wasn’t from swinging his sword around.


    They’re after me or Luka. Killing me will interfere with the wedding, after all.


    If they could sense people, there was a chance they knew where Luka was.


    I won’t let you get to her. Not on my watch.


    What he needed to do now was draw their attention to the point that killing him would be much faster.