I’m a Villain, but I Want to Live a Long Life - Chapter 133

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“This is the 1st Search Team. What’s the situation in the northwest?”

-We’ve reached the end of our jurisdiction. The mountain range is right ahead, but there are no traces of magical beasts.

“…Confirmed.”

Guard Captain Gaspard finished the communication. The soldiers’ gazes grew even darker.

Starting from the Central Tower, they had climbed all the way to the uppermost part of the Academy’s jurisdiction, but couldn’t find any traces of magical beasts.

The same was true for traces of Selene.

“Your Excellency. Please don’t worry too much. The young lady will be safe.”

Walter, who was among the soldiers, spoke cautiously. Aleon let out a short breath.

The forest spread out ahead was endlessly dark and gloomy. He suddenly turned his gaze to the knights conducting the search.

Among the knights were Estelin Laurence and Rosette Grimaldi.

Aleon recalled how the two children had visited his barracks a little while ago.

‘…Anita Solb is suspicious.’

Selene had manifested her protective barrier ability right after regaining consciousness from collapsing due to the temple.

He had also heard recently that she had manifested several more simple elemental abilities.

‘But not once did I think that was strange.’

Since he himself handled multiple abilities, he just accepted it as natural.

But if those abilities were really fake…

Aleon’s brow slowly furrowed.

He had deliberately refrained even more thoroughly from mentioning abilities in front of Selene.

Worried that a child who had been a non-manifester until a relatively late age might feel burdened, he had thoroughly controlled not only his own words but also those of the servants.

But apparently that still wasn’t enough. He should have been more attentive.

Aleon let out a short sigh with complicated feelings.

Looking back, it had always been like this since Hemera left.

He always became overly cautious when it came to matters concerning Selene. Often confused, frequently struggling.

Aleon organized his thoughts while feeling a strange sense of guilt.

‘If Selene really created fake abilities.’

Of course, it wasn’t particularly important to him. Even without abilities, Selene was still Selene.

But there would be external attacks.

She was a child who had often heard harsh words even when she developed the Tears of God and achieved merit at the inspection ceremony.

‘But now there’s even a clear pretext…’

It wouldn’t be strange at all for humans with hostility toward Tigris to bare their fangs, thinking this was their chance.

Perhaps Rishion might even refuse Selene’s admission.

Selene had been greatly worried about poor test results even right before leaving.

So if things turned out that way, she would surely be heartbroken.

But Aleon was confident he could comfort his daughter well.

Rishion wasn’t the only academy on the entire continent.

Above all, he had never once doubted Selene.

Aleon unconsciously turned his head to look again at the two children who were Selene’s friends.

‘Selene lost her necklace in the forest. You know, the one she wore every day. After it went missing, she suddenly couldn’t use her abilities anymore.’

‘We think Selene might have been using abilities through the power of that necklace.’

‘…So.’

‘That’s why Anita also noticed it and said things about Selene’s abilities being fake.’

‘…’

‘Why would she leave out the necklace story completely? There’s definitely something fishy about it.’

‘Right. What if Anita Solb is deliberately putting Selene in a difficult position while pretending otherwise…’

Aleon’s expression became a bit more complicated.

It was true that he had felt Selene was trying to hide something from him.

But he hadn’t tried to dig it out.

His daughter was clever and intelligent.

Even without his interference, even without his help, Selene always accomplished remarkable things.

And also…

Aleon’s eyes sank gloomily.

After a long time, their father-daughter relationship had finally become okay.

He was always cautious, worried that even a small problem might arise again.

They say children that age are sensitive. He thought it would be best to just quietly stay behind and support her.

‘But…’

Aleon clenched his fist tightly under his fluttering robe.

If he had missed something again this time.

‘If I’ve been making her bear too many burdens alone all this time…’

Just as he reached that thought, voices from the search team echoed from ahead.

“Move north! Continue the search even if we reach the mountain range!”

Aleon raised his gaze to stare at the high mountains beyond the forest.

Just as anxiety suddenly washed over him and he let out a complicated sigh.

“W-wait!”

An urgent cry came from ahead.

“Ahead! There’s something up ahead!”

In the direction of the forest that one soldier was pointing to, something could be seen faintly. Aleon’s pupils gradually grew larger.

“Di, Di…”

“It’s a Diearmant horde! And, and…!”

In the deep darkness. Something was lined up densely at the forest’s edge.

It didn’t take long to realize it was an unbelievably large pack of Diearmants.

But Aleon was fixing his gaze not on the magical beasts but elsewhere. A short breath burst from his lips.

At the very front of the magical beast horde standing in a circle like a belt.

Standing there on two feet was unmistakably Selene.

The hands of soldiers carrying communication magical devices moved quickly.

“Requesting reinforcements from the 2nd Squad! We’ve discovered magical beasts!”

-Confirmed. We’ll dispatch personnel to the northeast immediately… coordinates…

However, the communication didn’t continue for long.

“The, the communication seems to be disrupted by the magical beasts…!”

“What! Let me see! This is the northeast! 2nd Squad, 2nd Squad respond!”

– ….

“Damn it!”

The faces of the soldiers looking down at the completely disconnected magical device turned pale.

They soon raised their trembling gazes.

At the foot of the mountain, faintly visible in the distant darkness.

Dozens, no, hundreds of eyes were staring directly at them.

There were so many magical beasts that the area around them appeared bright white from the light they emitted.

“Wh-where did so many Diearmants come from…”

“In the previous subjugation, there wasn’t such a large horde!”

The soldiers instinctively knew. That the magical beasts’ presence was different from before.

Even until the last subjugation, there weren’t so many magical beasts. They didn’t give off such an eerie atmosphere either.

‘These were creatures that would run away first when they saw us.’

But now the magical beasts weren’t running away at all, instead maintaining a tense standoff with the guard unit.

Guard Captain Gaspard urged the stunned members.

“What are you all doing! Lady Tigris is being held hostage!!”

Only then did the soldiers snap to attention.

Indeed, at the very front of the magical beast horde stood the Lady Tigris they had been searching for so desperately.

‘But to call her a hostage….’

She didn’t seem to be properly restrained, and rather looked like she was commanding the magical beasts….

“Selene.”

Suddenly, someone’s murmur echoed through the forest that had fallen silent with tension.

The soldiers flinched in surprise and turned to look at the owner of the voice.

Duke Tigris was staring intently at the Lady with a dazed expression.

As if entranced, he placed one hand on the sword sheath at his waist and took a step toward the group of magical beasts.

Gaspard, who was leading the search party, darkened.

“Y-Your Grace! Not now. There are too many of them!”

Aleon didn’t respond. He ignored Gaspard’s words and continued walking toward the group of magical beasts.

One step, two steps. Gaspard’s face turned pale as he saw his pace quickening.

“You mustn’t, Your Grace, you should wait first…!!”

It was the moment he urgently approached Aleon and reached out his arm to grab him.

Crash—!!

With a tremendous roar, sparks flew from Gaspard’s body.

His body was repelled from Aleon by a massive shockwave and flew through the air.

Gaspard flew across the air and roughly crashed his back against a tree that was far away.

Seeing him plummet to the ground, the soldiers rushed toward Gaspard.

“C-Captain!!”

“Are you alright!!”

Gaspard let out a short groan with his head down. Blood was forming at the corner of his mouth.

However, he immediately raised his head and shouted.

“Stop His Grace right now!!”

The soldiers hurriedly turned around. Duke Tigris was still approaching the magical beasts.

“Battle must not break out before reinforcements arrive!!”

At Gaspard’s desperate cry, several soldiers frantically ran to catch Aleon.

“Your Grace! You mustn’t!! You should wait for reinforcements…! Ugh, aaaah!”

But they too couldn’t stop Aleon. To be precise, it was more accurate to say they couldn’t even lay a hand on him.

The moment they approached Aleon, a tremendous wave repelled them just like what happened to Gaspard.

Walter looked at the soldiers sprawled on the ground with a serious expression.

A short sigh escaped from his mouth.

“…Damn.”

The situation was serious.

For some reason, Selene was in the magical beast camp, and his lord had half lost his reason upon seeing her.

He organized his thoughts in a brief moment. Then he turned toward his lord and shouted to Gaspard.

“I’ll follow His Grace for now. Please request reinforcements as quickly as possible. Everyone must be assembled here without exception.”

Gaspard, who staggered to his feet, barely managed to nod.

He was barely maintaining his composure.

Before the entrance exams were held.

He had led the Diermant Extermination Squad from the front for several months.

He had killed dozens of Diermants and recovered magical stones according to Vice-Principal Sadina’s orders.

However, he had never encountered individuals that emitted such murderous intent.

‘I thought we had dealt with all the adults in the first place.’

The magical beasts that had formed a circular camp at the foot of the mountain and were staring this way numbered at least over a hundred.

What was more serious was that most of them appeared to be adults.

‘Where on earth did these magical beasts suddenly appear from…!’

Gaspard swallowed his sigh. And he looked at Aleon’s retreating figure, now far away.

‘The Duke’s ability too, I knew about it, but truly….’

They said he possessed a sword spirit that repelled everything.

Indeed, his sword energy seemed not of this world.

Gaspard recalled the tremendous intensity of the wave he felt the moment he reached out to the Duke and clenched his fist.

‘That must have been an enormously refined power as well.’

That’s why he was still alive and well now.

In the last war, Aleon Tigris had shattered everything in the enemy camp with his repulsive ability.

Every time he swung his sword, lightning flashed, and enemies struck by his sword bled endlessly from their wounds and died.

No matter how large an army was, it was nothing more than a swarm of insects before him.

“C-Captain! Is it really alright not to stop Duke Tigris? If battle breaks out like this….”

“…It’s not that we won’t stop him, but that we can’t stop him.”

The knights fell silent.

After completely getting to his feet, Gaspard dusted off his uniform and coldly commanded.

“Contact the squad in the northwest. Use the mobile formation to gather our forces as quickly as possible! We must prevent large-scale battle at all costs!”

The soldiers moved in perfect unison.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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