The Teacher of Budding Villains Suffers Today, Too - Chapter 106

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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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Episode 106
“You know our weakness?!”
“Yes… I’m certain of it.”
Allen clenched his fists tight. It was a habit Rachel knew well from teaching him. When he was confident, his hands balled up like this. Just as they were now.
“This isn’t the place for such a conversation. Come with me.”
Lucas led the way. Rachel followed him, Allen at her side.
Lucas brought them to the Crown Prince’s Barracks. Allen made no effort to hide his surprise—he clearly hadn’t anticipated setting foot in such a place.
“Now then. Speak.”
Lucas fixed his gaze on Allen, who swallowed hard before opening his mouth.
“You know well that this region has been a contested zone for a very long time.”
Allen was right. The area around the Dekision River had been a battleground for over a century, with control passing back and forth—sometimes held by Anareо, sometimes by Tirnes.
Even the castle they now faced, currently occupied by Anareо, had been under Tirnes rule more than a hundred years before.
“My house has been rooted in this region for generations. Though I’ve since moved to the capital, some of my relatives still live here. That’s how I—how our family—know the secrets that Anareо has hidden within Zick Castle.”
“Secrets of Zick Castle?”
“Yes.”
Allen looked between Rachel and Lucas as he continued.
“Everyone knows that because Zick Castle is militarily vital, it restricts civilian habitation and houses only soldiers.”
It was true. Since Anareо took Zick Castle, civilians had been barred from living there. Only soldiers remained within its walls.
“They claim it’s for military reasons, but there’s another explanation.”
“Another explanation?”
Lucas narrowed his brow slightly, questioning. Allen drew a deep breath and spoke.
“All but one of the wells in Zick Castle have run dry.”
“All but one of the wells have run dry?”
“Yes. In normal circumstances, Zick Castle could house over five thousand people. But sustaining that many on a single well is impossible.”
Allen was right—five thousand people surviving on one well was not realistic.
“Because Zick Castle is strategically crucial, Anareо feared this weakness would be discovered, so they prevented civilians from settling there. But members of my family witnessed the wells drying up in real time, and they passed this knowledge down to us in secret.”
Rachel bit her lip slightly at the startling revelation.
“The truly important part comes now.”
Allen lowered his voice. Rachel hung on every word.
“There’s no way thousands of Anareо soldiers can survive on a single well. They’ll slip out under cover of darkness to draw water from the Dekision River. If we use that moment wisely, I believe we can win this war. When the New Moon comes—when the night grows dark—they will surely emerge from the castle.”
Rachel gasped. She hadn’t expected to obtain such intelligence from a commoner mage. Lucas too seemed impressed, approaching Allen slowly.
“Allen. I shall not forget your service. When this war is over, you will receive a reward befitting your merit.”
Allen held up his hand in protest.
“I didn’t share this information to receive a reward. As a citizen of Tirnes, it’s simply my duty.”
He turned to Rachel and smiled.
“Besides, thanks to you, I’m honored to use this body in service of the empire.”
Rachel smiled back at him warmly, thinking that her decision—her choice to cultivate commoner mages—had been the right one.
* * *
“It’s the New Moon night…”
Rachel murmured softly.
After obtaining the information from Allen, Lucas immediately dispatched scouts.
What they learned through the scouts confirmed every word Allen had spoken. The reason Zick Castle, that strategic strongpoint, had served as a military garrison for a hundred years was simple: all but one of its wells had gone dry.
Anareо didn’t want this weakness exposed. So they controlled the civilian population and stationed close-mouthed soldiers. Then this war erupted.
‘Today the Anareо soldiers will come out to fetch water.’
Lucas, Rachel, Henry, and the Commoner Mage Legion waited for the New Moon to arrive. Once the soldiers emerged from the castle to gather water, their plan was to slip in among them and infiltrate Zick Castle.
‘It has to succeed without a hitch.’
Never having attempted anything like this before, the tension was overwhelming. As Rachel’s face grew increasingly taut, Henry spoke to her.
“You don’t have to go.”
“No. If I don’t go, I won’t be able to face my students.”
Rachel shook her head. Then she studied the sky intently. The night was dark enough, and with clouds gathering thick overhead, it was difficult to see even a hand’s breadth ahead.
“The sky is perfect.”
“It certainly is.”
“I think we can move now.”
Lucas stood. Rachel and Henry rose with him.
As they exited the barracks, they saw the commoner mages gathered in a group, all visibly tense.
“I’ll say it once more. Our goal is to enter Zick Castle and create chaos. On a night as dark as this, when the soldiers can’t see clearly, once we cause a disturbance inside, Anareо will surely believe Tirnes has launched an assault—and they’ll attack each other.”
Lucas didn’t want Tirnes soldiers to suffer casualties. That’s why he aimed for maximum effect with minimal force.
If they entered Zick Castle and raised a commotion, the enemy would believe they were under attack and turn on their own. That was what Lucas was counting on.
“Then let’s depart.”
Lucas pulled on his Black Robe and quickly set off. Rachel followed close behind, moving swiftly in his wake.
As they traveled upriver along the Dekision River, Rachel watched Lucas’s back. An ordinary Crown Prince wouldn’t act with such determination. He possessed the qualities of a true leader.
Rachel smiled faintly, thinking that Lucas could become Tirnes’s rightful emperor.
How far had they come?
A faint movement began to appear before their eyes. Rachel observed the Anareо soldiers moving about, drawing water, her gaze narrowed and sharp.
“Shh.”
Lucas stopped, signaling the others to halt. Then he counted the Anareо soldiers. Fortunately, their numbers were nearly equal to the Tirnes forces.
“Henry.”
At Lucas’s call, Henry moved to his side. He read Lucas’s hand signals.
The moment Lucas’s signal ended, both men rushed toward the Anareо soldiers without making a sound.
A grunt.
The somewhat defenseless Anareо soldier was quickly subdued by the two men. Once Lucas and Henry had rendered them all unconscious, they called for the rest of the Commoner Mages.
As though by agreement, the Commoner Mages donned the Black Robes the Anareо soldiers had been wearing. Lucas, Rachel, and Henry did the same.
“Move out.”
Lucas gave the order. He took position at the front and pulled a cart. The remaining Commoner Mages began pulling carts as well.
Tension wrapped itself around Rachel’s entire body. She could not hide the trembling in her heart.
How long had they walked? The rear gate of the castle began to come into view. It stood slightly ajar—likely left open to await the soldiers who had gone to draw water.
‘Almost there.’
Rachel summoned her last reserves of strength and pushed the cart forward.
After another five minutes of movement, the first cart reached the castle’s rear gate. Just as Lucas, pulling the first cart, was about to enter naturally through the open door—
“You there.”
A single soldier guarding the rear gate called out to Lucas, spear in hand. Lucas stopped in place, keeping his face as concealed as possible.
“What is it?”
“Password.”
The soldier demanded the password in a flat, indifferent tone.

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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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