The Support Ate it All

Chapter 174: Study With a Piece of Mind

In the distant past, after they lost in the Great Demonic War, the Heavenly Demon Cult scattered across various regions. They were dreaming of rebuilding their cult in secret.

However, that dream ultimately turned to nothing and it seemed the name of the Heavenly Demonic Cult would fade into history.

At that time, the Blood Cult emerged as a new focal point.

With the overwhelming martial strength of the Blood Cult’s leader, they absorbed all remaining forces of the Heavenly Demonic Cult, and as time passed, the Blood Cult established itself as one of the most powerful groups within the world of the <Dragon Slayer Academy>.

And the Bamboo Hat elder was an elder of that Blood Cult.

In fact, among the elders, he was one of the top in terms of skill.

From such a master’s perspective, the abilities of the shrewd-looking graduate and Dang Gyu-young were hardly impressive.

The Bamboo Hat elder looked at the two of them with disinterested eyes.

“I had a feeling something was off, and it turned out to be a trap. But what a lousy trap, considering they set it up with such weaklings. Surely, they aren’t lacking in talent, are they?”

Whirrrrr—!

The shrewd-looking graduate unleashed the skill he had prepared.

In the first ambush, he used a restraining technique for fear he might catch the wrong person. Now, he was using his ultimate move and pouring everything he had into it.

Dang Gyu-young also attacked with all her might.

Ten clear lines flew toward the Bamboo Hat elder.

And shadows spread out instantly and they formed a square-shaped field.

Each was imbued with a sharp energy, ready to cut cleanly when touched rather than just restrain.

Butterflies fluttered in the field and dozens of large shadow hands appeared. Each hand wielded a different shadow weapon and struck down.

Boooom—!

“…”

The Bamboo Hat elder simply looked at them with indifferent eyes.

Just as his body was about to be sliced by the ten lines and pierced by the shadow weapons.

Blood-red energy that looked like an Asura moved for the first time.

Two of the Asura’s six arms clenched their fists tightly and struck the ground with force.

Thud!

Red energy waves spread out from the Bamboo Hat elder, scattering the shadows within range.

Two of the Asura’s arms extended straight and sliced through the incoming lines with their palms.

The ten lines were effortlessly severed one by one.

The remaining two arms each sent a wave of energy toward Dang Gyu-young and the shrewd-looking graduate.

Bang!

“…!”

“…!”

The two who got hit by that energy were hurled against the wall at a terrifying speed.

This was the overwhelming might of an A-rank.

Even though they used their best techniques, they were easily blocked and even countered.

The Bamboo Hat elder spoke.

“See that? If this isn’t pathetic, then what is—”

“How about this?”

Thud,

The Bamboo Hat elder widened his eyes and turned his head over his shoulder.

“You…!”

“Was this a bit better?”

I withdrew my finger which I had stabbed into his shoulder.

My finger was frozen solid and gleaming with a jade-like blue light.

At the moment when Dang Gyu-young and the shrewd-looking graduate unleashed their ultimate moves,

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That moment was the first and last opportunity to exploit the Bamboo Hat elder’s weakness.

So I had preemptively boosted my physical abilities with Overheat,

And amplified the Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger’s power to A-rank.

Seizing the instant they clashed together, I thrust my forefinger in.

Swish!

I kicked off the ground to retreat and the Bamboo Hat elder immediately pursued.

His speed exceeded even the limits I had reached with Overheat.

He was truly no ordinary Blood Cult elder.

Six powerful arms targeted only me.

I dodged his swinging fists, deflected his slicing hands with a Storm Cloud, and evaded the flying energy.

But in the end, one of his energy-charged fists pierced my abdomen with incredible speed—

[‘Distortion’ has been activated.]

[Cooldown time 23:59:59]

—but my body twisted just before it could penetrate.

The Bamboo Hat elder was once again astonished.

“Wh-What is this!”

Meanwhile, I widened the distance further and returned to my original position on the building’s rooftop.

“Whew, I almost died.”

If it hadn’t been for [Distortion], I would have taken an express train to the afterlife the moment I was hit by that energy.

I had invested heavily in speed and had the control of a stagnant water player, yet it still wasn’t enough to overcome the stat difference with an A-rank.

Now that Distortion was deactivated, all I could do was watch from the sidelines.

Still, I did what I could.

Strangely, the Bamboo Hat elder no longer pursued me. More accurately, he couldn’t.

Because,

The effect is starting to show.

Crackle,

A chilling sound emanated from the Bamboo Hat elder’s body.

If something was freezing at an incredible speed, it would make a sound like that.

A fierce battle was undoubtedly taking place inside his body.

A battle between the cold I had injected with [Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger] and his internal energy.

Crackle,

“Argh…”

The Bamboo Hat elder glared at me with great killing intent, but his movements kept jerking to a halt, leaving him unable to do anything.

Soon, he seemed to change his mind and stood still. As if he was focusing his mind.

Three of his six energy arms dissipated, and his jerky movements became much smoother.

He appeared to be diverting some of his internal energy to block the cold.

Then he spun around and kicked off the ground. It seemed like he was planning to completely expel the cold by regulating his internal energy once he got away from this spot.

But will that go as he wishes?

Whoosh—!

Bright lines spread out like a spider web and they blocked his path.

The Bamboo Hat elder slashed the lines with his hand just as he had before, but the shadow butterflies that followed exploded near him.

Boom!

The Bamboo Hat elder landed back in his original position. His eyes were blazing with anger.

“Damn you wretched bastards…!”

“Where are you rushing off to?”

“Why not play with us a little longer?”

Of course, it was Dang Gyu-young and the shrewd-looking graduate who blocked his way. Both were in poor condition from being struck by his energy, but they had forced themselves back into the fight.

Now it should be manageable.

The Bamboo Hat elder’s energy arms were reduced to three and the power of his Asura Blood Demon Art was cut by half.

So, he wouldn’t be as overwhelmingly dominant as before.

Moreover,

Reinforcements have arrived too.

Rumble,

A wooden door suddenly sprang up a short distance away.

It wasn’t Kwak Seung-jae who burst through the door, but a woman with long hair tied in a ponytail.

She seemed to be a graduate. She likely stepped in herself since Kwak Seung-jae and the third-year students had been defeated by the shrewd-looking graduate.

“You thieves—huh?”

However, the woman with a ponytail had no choice but to stop in her tracks.

Unexpectedly, Dang Gyu-young and the shrewd-looking graduate were engaged in a fierce battle with the Bamboo Hat elder.

Naturally, her reaction to the bloody energy was the same as the shrewd-looking graduate’s.

“Asura Blood Demon Art!”

The third-year disciplinary committee members and Kwak Seung-jae, who followed her through the door, were equally wide-eyed.

This was the first time I saw Kwak Seung-jae so flustered like that.

The woman with a ponytail regained her composure first and gave orders professionally.

“Seung-jae, go request support! Not from the disciplinary committee, but from the faculty office! Bring a teacher! And the rest of you, stay with Seung-jae and guard him!”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

The disciplinary committee members nodded and took positions to protect Kwak Seung-jae.

The Blood Cult elder was likely a formidable opponent for her as well.

She seemed to decide that requesting support was more important, even though she would have liked to use every bit of strength available.

And so, she left the third-years behind to prevent anything from happening to Kwak Seung-jae or the wooden door from being destroyed.

Leaving Kwak Seung-jae who immediately began chanting a spell, the woman with the ponytail unhesitatingly threw herself into the battlefield.

When the Bamboo Hat Elder thrust a blood-red fist at her, she met it with a mana-infused palm.

Boom—!

A deafening explosion echoed as the woman with the ponytail was pushed back.

Although this meant she had suffered a loss from the clash, she gritted her teeth and charged again.

Blood-red energy, thin lines, shadows, and force mingled chaotically.

Pop-pop-pop!

He certainly lives up to his reputation.

The Bamboo Hat Elder who was weakened by the Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger could only exert about half of his power and was being attacked by three people at once.

Despite these dire conditions, he continuously maintained the upper hand and proved himself to be a Blood Cult elder.

All the three could do was keep him from moving away.

“Hmmm.”

Amidst the fierce battle, the Bamboo Hat Elder’s eyes flashed as he noticed something.

Kwak Seung-jae who was chanting a spell with the wooden door firmly closed.

Since the disciplinary committee members, including the woman with the ponytail, had appeared through that door, it wasn’t hard to guess what Kwak Seung-jae was trying to do.

He was requesting additional support.

This absolutely couldn’t be allowed.

“Get out of the way!”

Boom, boom, boom—!

Three arms of powerful energy whipped around like lashes, throwing the three people aside.

Immediately afterward, the Bamboo Hat Elder kicked off the ground and charged toward the wooden door.

A third-year disciplinary committee member raised a shield and blocked his path.

A wall formed as mana overflowed from the large shield, but a single punch from the energy fist shattered the sturdy wall instantly.

“Ugh.”

The committee member collapsed and spewed a mouthful of blood.

Another committee member quickly filled the gap, but was also struck by the energy arm and got sent flying.

Kwak Seung-jae who was fully focused on connecting the wooden door to another space was left defenseless.

“No!”

The woman with the ponytail shouted urgently.

She was chasing the Bamboo Hat Elder with all her might, but it seemed she was a step too late to protect Kwak Seung-jae.

Just as the blood-red energy fist was about to crush Kwak Seung-jae’s head,

A streak of blue light appeared from somewhere.

Bang—!

A huge mass of magical power struck the Bamboo Hat Elder like a cannonball.

The impact was so intense that it briefly disrupted the Asura Blood Demon Art.

The Bamboo Hat Elder slid back and stopped, then spat out his words.

“Who is it this time!”

Others were just as bewildered.

Everyone turned their heads in the direction the magic bullet had come from, but nothing was visible there.

It was too far to see anything with the naked eye.

“…A sniper?”

“Who could it be?”

It really happened just as Kim Ho said it would.

Ahn Jeong-mi marveled inwardly.

She had been watching the specified location at the specified time, as Kim Ho had asked her to.

Sure enough, the suspicious Bamboo Hat Elder appeared right on time, and his identity as an Elder of the Blood Cult was revealed.

How did he know that…?

The academy and its graduates were no fools.

To eliminate any potential threats, they had searched Dungeon Island thoroughly for a whole month.

Yet they found no trace of the Blood Cult, so how did he know the Elder would appear there and give her a warning?

And what else might he know?

From the first meeting, she sensed that Kim Ho was extraordinary, but even after a month, she still couldn’t fathom his depth.

Of course, there was one thing she was certain of.

We must make Kim Ho an ally by any means necessary.

Both for the sake of the Hye-seong Group and for her young miss.

Another thing that was certain was that the Elder of the Blood Cult was an obstacle to all of them.

Ahn Jeong-mi grasped the sniper rifle which was taller than her once more.

She aimed the muzzle at the Bamboo Hat Elder and placed her index finger on the trigger.

Young miss, Kim Ho-nim, please study with a piece of mind.

—I will take care of anything that stands in your way.

Bang—!

TN: As expected of a butler!