I Became the Savior of the Academy’s Villains-Chapter 104

The private soldiers surrounding Luca lay groaning, having lost an arm or a leg.
He could have cut off their heads in an instant, but Luca's aim was not to kill them.
'How many do I need to use up?'
His goal was to restore his life force using them.
That was Luca's purpose.
He didn't feel particularly sympathetic.
Nor did he think of himself as a cruel person.
After all, these were people who came to pillage this village.
'There's no way they just came to take some food.'
Thinking of what happened to Bella in the mining city of Vizel, it was obvious what kind of thoughts those who came to plunder this rural village might have.
Moreover, every single private soldier of a rural baron, in a territory that doesn't even have any food, is equipped with protective gear? A fiefdom with nothing, not even food reserves?
It didn't make sense.
In other words, someone was backing them.
For that reason, Luca held his sword, maintaining his cold gaze without the slightest hesitation.
"You—you can use magic power coating? At that age?"
Everyone who had witnessed what happened just now opened their eyes wide in disbelief.
Even outside these rural areas, it was rare these days to find swordsmen who could use magic power coating.
Even among knights who received professional training, there were often some who couldn't use magic power coating.
That was because there was no longer any need.
With the development of magic tools, it had become possible to mass-produce them, greatly reducing the production cost of magic soldiers.
It was far cheaper to make a magic soldier than to cultivate a strong knight.
Therefore, most forces now relied primarily on magic-soldier units armed with magical equipment.
Naturally, nobles became much more inclined to arm themselves with magic tools rather than with strong knights.
Just like during the incident with Milia in the past, where magic soldiers were the main force instead of knights.
A strong knight dying was a huge loss, but if a magic soldier was killed, as long as you recovered the magic tool, the loss was insignificant.
The same went for the countryside.
There was no knight around here who could use magic power coating.
So, when everyone saw it, they were overcome with fear.
It was just a matter of efficiency—magic power coating was still nothing less than the symbol of a strong knight.
"Protective gear doesn't work...?"
"How many were taken down in such a short time!"
"This... This is impossible. That's already a monster...!"
The morale of the private soldiers was instantly crushed.
They had relied solely on their protective gear, and now that was useless—it was inevitable.
Those surrounding Luca began to edge backward.
"Ugh! What are you doing! Capture that one at once!"
Baron Kobakht Max shouted at his soldiers.
But no one listened to him.
"My lord, morale is broken. There is no point fighting like this!"
At that, the Max family's only knight, Martro, tried to persuade him.
Kobakht Max bit his lip and turned away.
"Damn it. Call for retreat!"
"All soldiers, listen! Fall back for now! Take the wounded and those caught in traps, and retreat!"
At Martro's order, the private soldiers began to flee.
They were told to take the wounded, but no one came near Luca to save those who lay nearby with severed limbs.
"Ugh... Uhh... Take me... with you...!"
"It hurts... It hurts...!"
"I—I'm dizzy... cold..."
Those with limbs severed were dying.
Perhaps they had lost too much blood.
Luca clicked his tongue and looked at Hav, who wore a gloomy expression.
"Hav. Can you give first aid?"
"... Yes."
"If you will, please do it. I need them alive."
He could only extract life force from them while they were alive.
Wearing a complex expression, Hav took out capsules and gave first aid to the dying men.
"We—we won?"
"Wow! We survived! We won!"
"Baron Max was nothing special! Haha!"
The people of Potro village cheered as they watched the Baron's private soldiers run away.
Hav, treating the badly wounded while listening to the cheers, bit his lip.
"Haa..."
But all he could do was sigh.
Ultimately, it was thanks to Luca that they had repelled Baron Max's soldiers.
* * *
"Weren't you just some academy student? How can you use magic power coating?!"
Back in his own castle, Kobakht raged at Martro.
Martro hung his head in pain.
"I'm sorry..."
Since childhood, Martro had been bigger, stronger, and louder than others.
That was why he caught Kobakht's eye and was appointed as a knight.
Normally, that would have been enough, but not now.
Having never properly learned swordsmanship, there was no way he could take on Luca.
So, Martro had nothing to say.
All he could do was hang his head and apologize until Kobakht's mood improved.
"My, the kids these days sure are strong. Magic power coating, huh?"
"Eeek?!"
At that moment, a person in a robe appeared.
Kobakht was startled but forced a smile and said,
"Ha—haha. H—honorable guest. Weren't you resting...?"
"It seems a minor problem has arisen."
"A m—minor problem, you say?"
Ever since seeing "the feast" with his own eyes, Kobakht couldn't treat this person as an ordinary guest.
Just the thought of experiencing it himself made him suffocate.
The robed person spoke cheerfully.
"Rather than keep calling me 'honorable guest,' just call me Montana."
"Yes, sir, Montana."
The person who called himself Montana touched his cheek.
"Anyway, this is troublesome. We even lent you the protective gear, but you can't give us the results we wanted."
"..."
Kobakht rolled his eyes and swallowed hard.
There was no way the Max family could afford to equip its soldiers with protective gear.
Of course, it had been provided by Albino.
To get even more protective gear, they had forcibly conscripted regular peasants as soldiers.
Failure under these circumstances was a serious problem.
"But I don't intend to blame you for this. This was an unforeseen variable for us as well. Our Albino isn't so heartless as to abandon a partner for such an absurd reason."
"T-then...!"
Kobakht's expression brightened.
Montana also replied brightly,
"Well then, could you please gather all your soldiers?"
"... Excuse me?"
Kobakht looked a bit put off.
Montana burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! You can't expect us to just let this go. Our dear Baron has lost soldiers—shouldn't something be done?"
"Well... That is true, but..."
"If things continue like this, we're just at a loss. Albino doesn't do charity—if our partners lose, we can't just walk away empty-handed, can we?"
Even though he was smiling, Montana's voice steadily dropped.
Kobakht sensed this and couldn't answer—he just rolled his eyes.
"... But don't worry too much. Our Albino knows how to make sure we never lose in any situation."
"Wh-what do you mean...?"
"First, gather your soldiers. With Albino's secret technique, we'll strengthen your troops for you!"
At the mention of a secret technique, Kobakht felt an inexplicable sense of dread.
"A secret... technique?"
"Haha! No need to be so scared! Albino's secret technique is simply..."
Montana flashed a sly grin.
"The power to make men brave."
* * *
"Will this do?"
"Hmm... They've lost a lot of blood, but I think we can manage."
Luca, having brought the half-dead soldiers of Kobakht, stood by as Bern examined them with a slightly regretful look.
"..."
Hav, watching them, had a troubled expression.
Luca narrowed his eyes.
"Is there something you want to say, Hav?"
"... No."
"Then, rather than ruin the mood with that expression, why not go elsewhere? If you dislike using people for alchemy so much, maybe you shouldn't watch."
At Luca's words, Hav hesitated before speaking.
"Um... Shouldn't we reconsider?"
"Your arguments keep wandering. Moula. Could you please take him somewhere else?"
"... Alright."
Moula also didn't want Hav to keep getting stressed, so he tugged at his arm.
But Hav grabbed her arm in turn and said,
"There could be another way, right? Like... using monster life force or something?"
"Hav. Human and monster life force are different. Do you think—I mean, do you think the people who experimented back then didn't consider that much?"
That rebuttal came from Bern.
Hav fell silent again.
There were monsters everywhere, but there had to be a reason no one used them for this purpose.
"... Fine."
"Hav. I think you have talent, but there were hundreds of alchemists far more talented who researched this. To think your ideas are better than all their results is arrogance."
Hav tried to protest again, but Bern cut him off immediately.
"Every supposedly better method turned out pointless. In the end, the only choice left was to use human lives. That kind of sacrifice was needed to create the ultimate lifeform."
With those words, Bern placed the people onto an inverted triangle magic circle.
He then created a smaller magic circle a little further away, and connected the two using an alchemical formation.
On the smaller circle, he placed a flask.
Bzzzt!
The alchemical formula activated; the people on the inverted triangle magic circle slowly shriveled up, while red liquid filled up in the flask on the other magic circle.
"It'll take about two or three days. Will that be alright?"
"Thanks to our best driver, we have almost two weeks of leeway."
"That's good. Shall we have a meal, then?"
"As long as the menu isn't monster meat."
"Haha. Luckily, we won't have to eat monster meat today."
Luca and Bern made small talk lightly.
Seeing the two speak so casually even in this situation, Hav wore a sickened expression.
Watching Hav, Luca said curtly,
"Hav. Still with that face?"
"..."
"Is it using humans as ingredients that bothers you? Or is it because these people were forced into service by the baron?"
At Luca's remark, Hav pouted.
"Both."
"Then next time Baron Max brings private soldiers, I'll do nothing. When something happens to the villagers, don't blame me."
Hav looked flustered.
"Baron Max will come again?"
"There's no way a country baron could fully equip his soldiers with protective gear. Clearly, someone's backing him. With their support, he'll come back with stronger troops."
"That can't be..."
Hav looked crestfallen, as if he hadn't considered that.
"Will you only act after the village is ravaged? After everyone, adults and children alike, becomes slaves and endures unspeakable humiliation? Only then punish the baron's private soldiers for their crimes? Only once they've ruined everything you grew up with?"
Luca said this as he looked at the soldiers lying limbless.
"If I hadn't intervened, the ones who lost arms and legs would have been your villagers—not these soldiers. Are you saying these soldiers are blameless?"
"..."
Hav stayed silent, and Luca spoke impassively.
"Shall we go eat now?"
"... Alright."
Finally, Hav seemed to understand.
Luca sighed and nodded to Bern before heading out.
At that moment—
Crackle!
"!"
Luca flinched.
He sensed the power of lightning burning something outside.
Beeeeep!
At the same time, Whistle's cry was heard.
With a strange look, Luca spoke to the others.
"Go on ahead. I'll catch up soon."
"Huh? Luca, where are you going?"
Ottbo asked.
Luca smacked his lips.
"There's something I need to check."