Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy

Chapter 138

Is having more people in battle always an advantage?

If we get into the details, we could go on endlessly, but generally speaking, this is true. Having more people in a fight usually gives an advantage.

Just look at games, right? The harder the boss is, the more people you bring to the raid. There’s a reason for that.

It’s the same in this case. Right now, I have absurd specs for a first-year academy student.

I could probably take on two decent parties by myself. In fact, during the field trip, I’ve easily taken down at least one party in my raids.

But I can't handle the number of people surrounding me right now on my own.

According to the dumb fox, there are close to a hundred people.

Haha, seeing it in person is overwhelming. I guess I’ve really piled up a lot of karma. Seeing all these people gather just to take me down is a bit intimidating.

Well, thanks to my Mesugaki skills, I still look confident on the outside.

I suppress the tension inside and scan the people who’ve come to raid me.

Since I’m standing here openly, showing my face, the students look confused.

They probably think I’ve set some kind of trap.

The old Lucy Alrn might not have done this, but the current me is a skilled bitch, even if I’m nasty. They expect I wouldn’t just sit here without any preparation.

In reality, the only thing I’ve done is ask Faybi to cast a barrier spell to buy time if they charge blindly through this clearing!

As I watched with satisfaction, Arthur finally appeared.

It’s about time.

Honestly, if I fought them head-on, I couldn’t win.

If Benedict were here, he could knock them all out with a single punch, and even Karl could handle them with ease. But me? I’m not there yet.

Maybe if I were already a second-year, but I’m not even finished with the first semester of my first year.

I can hold out for a while, but eventually, I’d be crushed by their numbers.

Even if my party fights alongside me, the result won’t change. We might hold out a bit longer, but in the end, it would still be defeat.

So why am I standing here instead of running away? You think I’m here to atone for all my misdeeds by letting them teach me a lesson?

As if. I have no intention of letting anyone "educate" me.

Do you know how awful it is when your mind is taken over by negative thoughts during a punishment?

Unlike the dumb fox, I’m not a masochist. I have no desire to go through that experience voluntarily.

There’s only one reason I’m standing here: to defeat this crowd of a hundred people and take all their loot.

"Ahem."

My voice echoed throughout the clearing. It came out a bit louder than I expected, but that’s fine.

Joy’s magic is pretty good, after all. It’s just that she makes huge mistakes every time something important comes up.

Imagine if my voice hadn’t projected just now. I would’ve had to shout at the top of my lungs.

"Hello? All you disgusting perverted pedos? freaks? and weaklings? who’ve gathered to bully one little girl??"

As soon as I spoke, the attention of everyone surrounding me focused on me.

Most of their expressions were a mixture of confusion and disbelief. Of course, the words I just spat out didn’t exactly fit the situation.

"Aren’t you ashamed?? Gathering in a group because you’re scared of one cute little girl?? Why didn’t you run away crying to your mommy?? Huh?? You cowardly perverts??"

But it didn’t take long for the confusion to turn into anger.

Even Karl, the knight of the Alrn family, can’t handle my Mesugaki skill’s provocations easily.

There’s no way academy students, who haven’t even fully matured, could endure it either.

I could hear the sound of lips being bitten, the clenching of weapons, curses, and furrowed brows. And inside me, a wave of exhilaration was building.

Once again, the Mesugaki skill was doing its job.

"Even the pathetic little prince? couldn’t beat me with just his party, so he had to gather all these people?. Did you forget what honor is?? Or are you just too dumb after losing to Clueless Joy??"

"Shut up, Lucy Alrn! Prince Arthur gathered us to punish you for your crimes!"

My taunt, aimed at throwing off Arthur’s composure, had caught someone else instead.

I don’t know their name, but judging by the way their eyes are blazing, they must be a noble who supports the royal family. One of those types who values honor. These kinds of people are easy to mess with.

"Crimes?? What exactly did I do wrong, you pathetic weakling??"

"Everyone knows what you did during this field trip! How dare you deny it!"

"Oh, that?? And why is that my fault?? Isn’t it because you maggots are just weak??"

As my words spread through the crowd, I could see the anger gradually infecting everyone.

Normally, Arthur or the other party leaders would step in to calm things down, but even they were too flustered to control the situation.

The fuse of the bomb was already lit, and no one had noticed.

Everything was going according to plan.

"Isn’t that right?? If you weren’t such pathetic weaklings? who get crushed by a little girl like me, there wouldn’t be any problem, would there??"

"That’s not...!"

"Aww, you don’t want to admit you’re just trash, huh?? Sorry for ruining your plan to jerk off after winning by cheating?. But you should have been born better than trash?."

"Lucy, I’m going to kill you!"

The moment I finished speaking and let out a mocking laugh, one person, unable to contain their anger, rushed at me.

I recognized the face. It was a girl who had constantly picked fights with me after losing to me in the academy entrance exam.

What was her name again? Something like "Pathetic Noble Lady" or "Weakling Noble Lady," according to my Mesugaki skills.

Anyway, thank you, Extra. Thanks to you becoming the starting point, my plan is complete.

People are always afraid to take the first step. But once someone else takes action, it’s easy to follow along.

It’s like when you’re standing at a red light and someone next to you crosses the street—before you know it, you find yourself following.

Look now. As soon as Extra took a step forward, the rest of the academy students have started charging too.

Arthur’s trying to shout and regain control, but it’s too late.

If he wanted to stop this, he should’ve done it before the bomb exploded. What’s the point of trying to stop it after the explosion?

"Are you mad?? Are you mad?? Puhaha? You all look like cockroaches running at me? So gross? So disgusting?."

Is having more people in a battle an advantage? Like I said earlier, in most cases, yes.

But, if we change the context a bit, there are cases where it’s not.

This is one of those times.

In a situation where the soldiers should be following the commander’s orders but have lost control, having more people turns into a disaster.

The vanguard charges blindly at the enemy, ignoring whether the person next to them falls.

The rear guard prepares their attacks, not caring if the front lines get caught up in it.

The ones who are supposed to coordinate things have already mixed into the vanguard, charging ahead.

And even the ones responsible for maintaining order have been consumed by anger.

The chaos had only just begun, but already several students had been taken out—not by me, but by their own comrades.

Do you see it now?

This isn’t a group.

How can you call an uncoordinated, unorganized mess a group?

These are just individuals, each driven by the same goal of "educating" me.

Everything is going according to plan.

Since I knew they’d come after me as a group, I planned to turn that against them. This strategy was something I came up with, with advice from the old man.

Now, the important thing is to stall for time. I need this chaos to grow until no one can control it anymore.

And that’s what I’m best at.

After all, no matter what anyone says, I’m a tank.

"Dieeeeee!"

The Extra, who had cut the fuse, reached me first, swinging her sword.

Hey, Extra. We’re not exactly friends, but haven’t you picked enough fights with me to know by now?

Like I always say, you get too emotional. That’s why your movements are so predictable.

Even without my Iron Wall skill, I could easily tell how to block your strike.

The moment I raised my shield and blocked Extra’s sword, I felt the impact lessen.

My Parry skill had activated.

Her sword was already easy to deflect, but now that the parry skill was in play, the impact was even lighter.

It was as if her sword hadn’t even touched my shield.

I pushed my shield forward and grabbed Extra by the collar, lifting her off the ground.

She struggled, twisting her body in resistance, but escaping my grip was impossible.

The gap in strength between us was just too large.

I wonder what it feels like to be dangling in the air, held up by a girl smaller than you?

Extra had no choice but to be thrown back toward where she had charged from.

After watching Extra fly through the air, I clenched and unclenched my hand.

I definitely feel lighter than usual.

Provoking nearly a hundred people with the Mesugaki skill has given me quite the buff.

At this rate, I could probably land a solid hit on Karl too.

Looks like I’ll have to skip using my mace today.

If I swing that thing, I might accidentally kill someone with one hit.

A minor injury, Faybi or the professors could heal, but if I send someone straight to meet their god with one blow, there’s no fixing that.

I don’t want to kill anyone just yet.

So today, I’ll stick to my shield and bare hands.

As I flexed my hand and looked up, I saw the students who had gathered around me hesitating.

It seems the sight of Extra flying through the air like an airplane had sobered them up.

That won’t do. I need you all to create more chaos.

"What’s wrong?? Weaklings?? Too scared to come at me?? Then why aren’t you running away?? Did you wet yourselves?? Puhaha? What cowards? Better go home and suck on your mommy’s tit, huh??"

Come on. Let’s go.

I’m way stronger than you, and I’m offering to play.

Consider yourselves lucky, you pathetic trash.