The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 85

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Academy Weapon Replicator Chapter 85
Part 25: The Barrier (1)
The monsters kept coming.
It was inevitable, given their purpose—to disrupt the wall’s repairs.
Yet despite the readiness, casualties on the human side accumulated relentlessly.
The enemy was monsters from beyond. However few their numbers, losses were unavoidable.
Humans crumble in spirit simply by witnessing the death of those standing beside them.
More than anything, these soldiers had been fighting since long before Frontdier arrived.
Exhaustion had peaked. Their resolve was disintegrating.
Yet somehow, those who seemed ready to collapse at any moment still held the line.
The reason was Frontdier.
“Hold! Focus on what’s in front of you! Forget about the ‘birds’ in your head! They’re nothing but a pack of dogs!”
The moment Frontdier entered the fray, the battle shifted. The most striking change was in the aerial combat.
For the knights and soldiers—not slaves—the damage from the winged monsters was catastrophic. They could attack from above the barrier, unreachable from below.
Common arrows couldn’t pierce the monsters’ tough hides, and landing hits was grueling work.
When those creatures descended on the knights and soldiers stationed atop the barrier, chaos erupted from every direction.
Even if they somehow suppressed every attacker before reaching the wall, there was no guarantee this would always be the case.
In other words, every fighter suffered from a gnawing dread—trying to face the monsters before them while constantly fearing when the next strike might rain down from above.
Thwack! Crunch!
But Frontdier alone had crushed all those troublesome fliers.
He dispatched nearly every flying monster single-handedly, and even the rare one he missed was easily handled by the remaining troops.
“Frontdier! Move to the left! Try to position them so the corpses fall on more monsters!”
“Understood.”
With the situation as it stood, Sanders issued orders directly to Frontdier.
It was both a public acknowledgment of Frontdier’s capability, and Sanders’s booming voice carried a message for the prisoners and soldiers below: he was still here, still in command.
To issue orders to Frontdier meant to affirm that he remained sound and ready.
The ground forces gained sudden certainty. As long as Frontdier fought, there would be no devastating aerial assault.
And there was something else.
‘While I’m in Taeibun, not a single knight will fall.’
Those words gave the knights far more strength than Frontdier himself realized.
In this battle, prisoners died in far greater numbers, but a single knight’s life held more weight than all of them combined.
Knights could partially command the prisoners and soldiers, face multiple monsters alone, and maintained morale that didn’t easily falter under pressure.
If a gap opened in the knight ranks, the entire balance of the battlefield trembled.
And remarkably, the promise Frontdier had made at the outset of a wager was holding firm.
Ten days since Frontdier arrived in Taeibun. Among the knights, the death toll remained zero.
‘Hmm, that one’s stirred them up good and proper.’
Hector, who had chattered relentlessly beside Frontdier until now, reflected on this.
Before Frontdier’s arrival, even the knights’ thoughts had drifted toward despair. They’d assumed some of them were bound to die.
Then Frontdier had spoken.
—Who here looks like they’ll die? Anyone desperate to join the dead?
Someone will die. On this battlefield, it’s certain.
But then—who?
Once you face that question, understanding comes whether you want it or not.
That someone could be you.
“Kill them! Leave none alive! Cut them down! The monsters from beyond are masters of deception!”
But today,
“Smash the heads of the fallen! Don’t turn your backs carelessly!”
And still, today,
“Any wounded who can walk, come here! Clear the corpses quickly! Search for the living!”
Not a single knight had died.
* * *
In the war council attended by Regent Ridwei and Princess Aten.
“So much fuss about ‘beyond this’ and ‘beyond that,’ and they’re nothing special!”
“We used to be pinned down at the gates, and now we’re actually pushing them back!”
“I thought we were the ones advancing!”
“Hahahaha!”
Of course, before the council began, the knights were bursting with elation over the battle, speaking with unbridled enthusiasm.
“Frontdier was incredible. Wiped out all those annoying fliers!”
“At first I thought, who’s this wet-behind-the-ears kid showing up?”
“Well, he’s definitely green—but that’s exactly why he fights so well! His blood’s still hot, you see!”
Praise for Frontdier came pouring in from all sides.
Fewer people had died since Frontdier arrived.
That single, simple fact was enough to overturn his entire reputation.
Frontdier was still winning the wager, though frankly, the wager itself hardly mattered anymore.
“……Mm, yes. Today we can call this a successful defense. What do you think, Frontdier?”
Sanders listened silently to the knights’ murmurs before turning to ask Frontdier.
At last, Frontdier—who had been merely holding his post—was given a voice.
It was also recognition of his achievements over the past ten days.
He had kept casualties among the prisoners and soldiers to a minimum, and not a single knight had suffered so much as a critical wound.
The fighting had been grueling, but this was far from a poor outcome. Frontdier, who had accomplished so much, opened his mouth slowly before the assembled company, their morale soaring high.
“The situation is grave.”
“…….”
It was a single sentence that shattered the mood, doused it in cold water, and cut through the festive cheer.
This was more than mere tactlessness—Frontdier’s expression was far too grave.
“On the orders of Commander Sanders, I surveyed the entire Barrier from the left flank.”
Frontdier pointed to the map laid out on the central table.
“Here—the corner on the right side has already become untenable.”
This was knowledge Frontdier had gained through Analysis, and it was nearly certain.
The right side of the Barrier now teetered like a jenga tower with only the final block remaining.
“You say you confirmed structural damage to the wall in the thick of battle? With your eyes alone?”
“That is correct.”
Frontdier answered matter-of-factly. Yet because his claim was so difficult to believe, Sanders turned his gaze toward Aten.
“Your Highness, what do you say? You have inspected the Barrier yourself, have you not?”
Aten furrowed her brow and brought her hand to her lips. In her own way, she too was taken aback by Frontdier.
“……It is true that the section Frontdier just indicated is the most vulnerable point in the Barrier. However, whether it is truly on the verge of collapse at this very moment as he suggests……”
At Aten’s response, the atmosphere grew graver still.
Though imminent collapse was not certain, the fact that both Frontdier and Aten pointed to the same location elevated his credibility considerably.
Ridwei spoke up.
“Then we’d have no choice but to lure the Monsters to one side. Gather the prisoners and send them out. That’s how we’ve been doing it so far.”
Draw the Monsters away from the weak section of the Barrier. Position archers on the opposite side, open the gate to send the prisoners out, and the immediate crisis would be quelled.
But again, Frontdier shook his head.
“That will not be easy.”
“Why not?”
“The section I called precarious has a fundamentally different structural state than the other vulnerable points in the wall.”
“Different? How precarious are we talking?”
“……I see. To put it this way,”
At that moment, Frontdier drew his entire hand across his mouth. He seemed to be deliberating how best to phrase it.
“If you strike the wall at any point right now, the right side of the Barrier will collapse.”
“……!”
The assembly fell cold at those words. Some widened their eyes in shock at what it meant.
It was as though they were a sandcastle where a single wave touching even one pillar would bring the whole structure crashing down—the Barrier had reached its limit.
And the point of failure would begin at the right wall.
“……Are you not being overly pessimistic? Might you not have simply misread the situation?”
Sanders spoke carefully.
“My vigilance has lapsed due to the sharp decline in casualties. I have grown negligent in monitoring the Barrier.”
At Frontdier’s words, all present recalled the past ten days.
Frontdier claimed responsibility, but in truth, it belonged to all of them. The lapse, the negligence—these belonged to every knight present.
“……Yet, actual combat is……”
Sanders spoke again.
The reason Sanders continued to raise objections, setting facts aside, was a matter of morale.
All the knights were listening to Frontdier’s words right now. There was a risk that morale would shatter before battle even began. Even if what he said was true, it had to be glossed over for now.
Understanding his intent, Frontdier nodded.
“Of course, I have a countermeasure.”
“A countermeasure?”
“You have a plan?”
Sanders and Ridwei spoke simultaneously. Given only what Frontdier had said so far, there seemed to be no way forward.
“Yes. If the Barrier faces collapse, it must be rebuilt—even if only provisionally.”
After speaking, Frontdier looked at Aten.
“First, I will need Your Highness’s assistance.”
“……Ice, then.”
Aten guessed at the answer and spoke.
If there was enough time to fully deploy an incantation, it would be possible to cover part of the Barrier with ice.
Besides, this region in the north is extraordinarily cold. Ice forming would be no trouble.
……The problem, however, was Mana.
“……At most, perhaps thirty minutes.”
Aten offered her estimate.
The knights’ faces darkened accordingly. Thirty minutes. It was far too short a span to endure the monsters’ assault.
“Yes. Which is why we need one more person.”
“One more?”
“Yes. Even if they can’t deploy magic from nothing like the Princess, it would be sufficient if they could simply add Mana to an already-constructed spell.”
“……Do such people exist?”
Frontdier spoke as though it were simple, but truthfully, simply adding Mana to another’s spell was something that elevated one beyond the rank of novice mage.
“We don’t have one yet, but there is someone who could become capable of it within a short span of time.”
“Someone like that… Ah.”
Aten trailed off and grasped his meaning. Frontdier nodded slightly, as if to confirm her guess was correct.
“Saiber. That one could manage it. I’d say five days would be enough to master it.”
Ridwei, who had been listening, could not contain his incredulity and interjected.
“Five days? Is Saiber some sort of unparalleled prodigy? It could take ordinary people months just to sense and handle Mana, let alone go beyond that and learn to inject it. You’re saying five days is enough?”
Of course, from the perspective of someone like Ridwei—one who understood the principles of magic and possessed common sense—such a claim was absurd.
But there was only one answer I could give.
“The phrase ‘unparalleled prodigy’ is far too modest for Saiber.”
……
Ridwei fell silent, blinked at me, then turned to look at Aten.
Aten nodded without expression. It meant my words were perfectly obvious.
“──Assuming that’s possible, what about the remaining five days?”
It was Hector who spoke this time.
The intervals between the monsters’ incursions were growing shorter. To hope they would not come within those five days was beyond optimism—it was delusion.
Of course, my answer to this was inevitable.
“I will handle them.”
“……Huh, what?”
Hector’s response to my words was remarkably innocent.
So I explained a bit more plainly.
“I will eliminate all of them before they reach the Barrier.”

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