"Is it done...?"

McDowell, facing the dragon, watched the undead legion enter the canyon.

The legion moved in groups.

Under normal circumstances, this situation would have signaled the Academy's defeat.

If it had been according to the original plan, that is.

The Academy's initial strategy involved only Gracie and McDowell fending off the undead legion.

However, there was a problem with this plan.

The bone dragon and Venderwood needed to be stopped.

Gracie managed to stop Venderwood, while McDowell stopped the bone dragon.

Then, the moment arrived.

McDowell raised his hand high into the sky.

A small light emanated from McDowell's hand.

The light soared high into the sky.

Bang!

It burst with bright light.

Simultaneously, a strong mana spread around.

A quivering energy enveloped the body.

The undead legion, rushing into the canyon, gradually came to a stop.

"...Huh?"

The undead soldiers stopped and looked at their comrades beside them.

And then.

Crack.

"Krararak!!!"

They attacked their own comrades.

The undead began showing hatred towards each other and started fighting.

Entangled and intertwined in the narrow canyon, they trampled and killed each other.

Screams, as if being torn apart, and the sound of bones breaking echoed across the battlefield.

McDowell looked at this scene and smiled.

The Academy's plan was to lure only the undead into the canyon.

Undead are beings that harbor hatred for life.

They possess no intelligence, only hatred.

Cromwell exploited this.

He cast a group hallucination spell on the undead, making them perceive their comrades as living beings.

Using an amplifier brought from the Empire, he spread the hallucination spell across the entire battlefield.

Caught in the narrow canyon and tangled up, unable to escape, the undead killed each other.

This was Cromwell's plan.

However, this plan had a flaw.

It would be useless if there were beings capable of controlling the undead, and meaningless if there were beings that could break through the canyon alone.

Thus, from the beginning, McDowell and Gracie targeted those who could thwart their plan.

They stopped Venderwood, who could control the undead, and the bone dragon, who could exert the force of an army alone.

While stopping them, they acted as if they were preventing anyone from entering the canyon.

"Krararak!!!"

"Haha..."

Gracie sat on the ground, watching the undead fight each other.

"I guess we get to breathe a bit...?"

Until the enemy's main force arrived, until the Royal army came to their aid, they had bought some time.

Gracie thought so.

Then.

"Do you think... it will go as you wish..."

Suddenly, a raspy voice came from behind her.

A figure with a pierced heart and melted flesh.

Venderwood was rising from the ground.

"He's alive?"

Venderwood had taken a direct hit from Gracie's fatal technique, 'Astrape.'

'Astrape' was not just an ordinary skill.

As evidence, there was Venderwood, burnt and mangled beyond recognition, melted down.

Despite taking a direct hit from such a technique, Venderwood rose.

'I don't have the strength to face him anymore...'

Small spells could be used, but they were insufficient against Venderwood.

"Damn..."

However, Venderwood's condition was not normal either.

His body wasn't healing.

Only bones were barely coming together, and a few pieces of flesh were attached enough to sustain life. He couldn't continue to fight.

But, in this situation, just maintaining life was an advantage for Venderwood.

"Legion!!!"

Venderwood yelled with all his might.

He controlled the undead fighting each other.

Sending them into the canyon would mean victory for the rebels.

"Advance..."

"Bastard...!"

Then, a small light flew towards Venderwood.

The light pierced through Venderwood's vocal cords.

"Gurk..."

McDowell's magic.

Hastily used, it didn't have great power, but it was enough to silence him.

McDowell quickly used mana to attack Venderwood again.

But, he faced a different opponent.

"Grrr..."

"Oh no..."

The bone dragon charged at McDowell.

With the dragon's huge body charging, McDowell couldn't use other magic.

McDowell threw himself to the side to dodge the bone dragon and cursed.

'If only my arm were fine...'

If Venderwood controls the undead, it's a defeat.

He knew he could heal, but he never imagined his regeneration to be that strong.

Moreover, the bone dragon in front of him was a problem.

It was much stronger than before.

It must have been enhanced in some way.

McDowell dodged the attack and shouted loudly.

"Gracie!!!! Block it!!!!"

"Eugh..."

Gracie barely managed to get up and moved her mana.

The sparks that had spread around were long gone, and with her mana depleted, Gracie could only use small techniques.

"Electric..."

Gracie used the weakest electric magic.

"Damn..."

Venderwood took the attack head-on.

Venderwood, who had easily dodged Gracie's strong attacks effortlessly before, had to let the attacks connect.

"Legion."

Venderwood poured all his healing power into recovering his vocal cords.

He focused solely on healing to give commands while a desperate fight unfolded on the battlefield.

Cromwell, inside the canyon, sensed something was off.

"What's going on?"

Despite the plan going as intended, Gracie and McDowell had not signaled victory.

Something had gone wrong.

Rudy, who was nearby, tilted his head in confusion.

"What's happening?"

Cromwell looked at Rudy, who was helping control the camp, then turned away.

"Rudy, stay here. I'll be right back."

"Huh? Professor?"

Cromwell used magic to fly into the sky.

He flew quickly towards the battlefield.

"......"

He soon arrived at the battlefield and scanned the surroundings.

The undead legion trapped in the canyon was killing each other.

McDowell was still fighting the bone dragon, and Gracie was sitting, defeated, on the ground.

And then.

"Legion!!!!!!!"

He saw Venderwood, whose vocal cords had recovered.

"Sigh..."

Cromwell quickly made a decision... no, he reacted reflexively with his mana.

If that bastard shouts, if he controls the undead legion, it would be unstoppable.

The inside of the canyon was not yet ready for battle.

The original soldiers were prepared, but their numbers were far too few, and they lacked a proper commander.

They couldn't face that massive legion.

"Gravity."

Cromwell used telekinesis magic to send a small stone flying towards Venderwood.

The stone was small, but it flew quickly because of its size.

"Huh?"

Venderwood spotted the stone flying towards him.

It was coming at a tremendous speed, but Venderwood's dynamic vision allowed him to see it.

A stone flying straight for his throat.

'I can't shout...'

He saw the stone, but there was no time to dodge or speak before it hit.

And he also had no confidence in recovering after being hit by the stone.

'Aryandor...'

Venderwood resignedly repeated Aryandor's name.

Then.

Thud.

A small, bouncing sound was heard.

"......?"

Someone appeared in front of Venderwood and blocked the stone thrown by Cromwell.

"Ah... Aaah..."

Gracie, sitting on the ground, saw the man.

Cromwell, floating in the sky, and McDowell, fighting the bone dragon, both of their eyes widened.

"There was no need to risk your life to break through."

The person who appeared was Aryandor.

Cromwell clenched his teeth hard.

'Aryandor here all of a sudden...'

He was supposed to be leading the main force.

And he suddenly shows up with the vanguard?

There was no way Aryandor could have known about the vanguard's situation.

Yet, Aryandor appeared here.

"Gracie! Get out of the way!!!"

Gracie was right in front of Venderwood.

Cromwell shouted as he flew towards her.

"Ah..."

But Gracie couldn't move as Cromwell had shouted.

Aryandor quickly drew his sword and swung it.

Blood sprayed.

Gracie was cut.

"Gracie!!!!!!"

Cromwell immediately used telekinesis magic.

He sent dozens of giant rocks flying at Aryandor.

Aryandor, finding it laughable, swung his sword and cut through the rocks.

At the same time, he shouted.

"Legion. Stop."

The undead that had been killing each other stopped their movements.

"Aryandor!!!!!"

"Greetings, Vice Principal Cromwell."

Cromwell quickly reached Gracie's side.

And stood in front of her, facing Aryandor.

'Blood...'

Gracie's body wasn't cut through, but she had a large sword wound on her abdomen.

A tremendous amount of blood was flowing, and leaving her like this was far too dangerous.

He wanted to take her and flee, but Aryandor was standing in the way.

Cromwell clenched his fist as he looked at Aryandor.

"How did you know to show up?"

"Do I have to tell you that?"

Aryandor said with a sneer.

But Cromwell wasn't one to be easily intimidated.

"If you're here, do you think the main force would be alright?"

Cromwell hadn't failed to consider this situation.

He had even considered the scenario where Aryandor would suddenly appear on the battlefield.

The main force without Aryandor wasn't as strong as one might think.

So, if Aryandor came here, it meant that the Royal army wouldn't be moving towards the Academy, but the rebels' main force would be attacked instead.

Despite Cromwell's threat, Aryandor just shrugged his shoulders, showing no particular emotion.

"Well, we'll see about that later."

Cromwell was puzzled.

What was he thinking? How had he gotten here, and what was happening with the main force?

Despite these questions, he was thinking about how to save Gracie, who lay injured.

"Vice Principal Cromwell."

As Cromwell was engulfed in confusion, Aryandor smiled.

"How about we step back for a moment?"

"…What?"

"Don't you want to save the girl below? I also want to preserve Venderwood and the undead legion. So, let's both step back and regroup."

Cromwell looked at Aryandor with disbelief.

Aryandor wore a ruthless smile.

"Not interested?"

The situation wasn't favorable for either side.

If the fight continued, the Academy's side would be breached through the canyon, and the rebels' main force would be swept away.

The battlefield would surely become chaotic, and the fight would turn into a dangerous tightrope walk.

This situation, while not welcomed by the Academy, actually favored the rebels.

Their forces being weaker than the Empire's, even a standoff was advantageous for them, suggesting they were managing to steer the fight in their favor.

But, to retreat?

Cromwell bit his lip and pondered, then picked up Gracie from the ground.

'What are you thinking, Aryandor?'

With these thoughts, he bit his lip.

Here, no matter how much he disliked Aryandor or how incomprehensible his thoughts were, he had no choice but to accept the proposal.

"Let's do that."

"Well thought out, Vice Principal Cromwell."

At this, Aryandor smiled.