Doggone Academy

“Everyone, assemble and form ranks!”

Commander Popper, riding his horse, busily gathered the knights who were resting.

Popper’s booming command had the knights hastily grabbing their gear and forming formations.

He raised his sword towards the sky.

This gesture suggested more than just retreating to the outskirts of the village to set up defenses, it was a signal for an impending battle.

The knights, perceiving his intent, could sense the combat ahead.

Joyce felt this strongly, fueling his fighting spirit.

He scanned the area for Silveryn’s apprentice.

Spotting Silveryn on horseback at the rear of the formation, he noticed her apprentice was nowhere to be found.

Joyce took it as a good omen.

Without her apprentice’s interference, he could make a definite mark in the coming battle.

Berelman, Popper’s lieutenant and Joyce’s senior, approached him subtly.

“Joyce, take the front of the column.”

“Understood.”

This was essentially an invitation to shine at the forefront of the battle.

The knights all hurriedly mounted their steeds. They quickly followed Popper, who set off in haste. The place they arrived at was a two-story house with red walls.

Following Popper’s orders, the troop split into two; Squad 2 was tasked with surrounding the building. The knights encircled the property, blocking off any possible escape routes for the ghouls.

Squad 1 was organized for infiltration.

“Conduct a thorough search inside the building and prepare for any ghoul ambush!”

The knights, formed in two lines, broke through the gate into the mansion’s garden.

“Wait! There are sounds coming from inside the mansion!”

All knights stopped in their tracks and listened carefully.

Kwoong— tap tap tap tap

Loud footsteps echoed from inside the mansion, quickly moving towards the entrance.

Bang!

The mansion’s front door swung open as if about to break, and a ghoul burst out.

“It’s a ghoul!”

All the knights drew their swords and entered battle stance.

The ghoul, undeterred by the encircling knights, charged towards the exit leading into the village with ferocious determination.

Joyce confidently stepped forward.

“I’ll handle this.”

Hearing his declaration, the other knights paused momentarily before gradually stepping aside to ensure they wouldn’t obstruct him.

In the blink of an eye, a one-on-one confrontation was established.

The ghoul was covered in blood and in a state of extreme agitation. By nature, ghouls were inclined to flee when outnumbered, but now it defied its instincts, wildly lashing out.

It seemed as if it had committed a violent act in its frenzy.

‘Has there been another victim in the meantime?’

Joyce clenched his teeth.

The ghoul attacked without hesitation, leaping and aiming its claws downward at Joyce’s head as he obstructed its path.

Clang!

Joyce raised his sword above his forehead, parrying the ghoul’s striking claws.

However, the ghoul’s momentum from the air, combined with its sheer weight as it pressed down, threw Joyce’s upper body off balance. He quickly adjusted his footing to regain stability.

Though Joyce had blocked the attack, the impact sent a tremendous shock to his wrist and shoulder.

“Ugh.”

A struggle ensued with the ghoul’s claws clashing against his sword.

Yet, in terms of sheer physical strength, Joyce couldn’t hope to outmatch the ghoul.

He was reaching his limit.

Joyce twisted his sword subtly, dodging to the side while slashing the ghoul’s wrist.

Ssslick!

Blood spurted out.

While he hadn’t completely severed the wrist, Joyce had succeeded in causing it to bleed.

Kreeeak!

With a ghastly scream, the ghoul recoiled a step back. Blood streamed from its wrist onto the ground.

Got a hit in.

His brief pride was interrupted.

The ghoul, even more agitated now, recklessly swung its claws at Joyce.

Clang!

Joyce calmly deflected the wild blows.

The claw aimed for Joyce’s chest pushed through with brute force, striking past his sword.

Now the ghoul, cornered, was attacking with all its desperate strength.

This time, Joyce was forced to step back significantly.

His sturdy steel breastplate was torn as if it were mere paper. Fortunately, his body was not directly hit.

“Damn.”

Taking a deep breath, Joyce focused on the ghoul’s movements.

Reading the trajectory of its oncoming assault, he bravely positioned his blade to counter.

Ssslick!

Joyce’s sword glided between the ghoul’s fingers, splitting its hand in two.

Having landed an attack, Joyce pressed the advantage without giving the ghoul a chance to retreat.

He sliced through the tendons at the ghoul’s shoulder and thrust his blade into its collarbone.

As the ghoul struggled, immobilized by a single arm, he shouted.

“Now!”

At his call, the knights that were nearby rushed in and thrust their swords between the ghoul’s back spines in unison.

Accompanied by the unpleasant sound of flesh being pierced, the ghoul’s flailing arm went limp and dropped.

When the knights withdrew their swords, the ghoul collapsed to the ground.

Catching his breath, Joyce steadied himself.

He had narrowly avoided a serious injury, but nonetheless, he had single-handedly subdued the ghoul.

Waiting to receive the next command, he glanced back. His gaze met with Popper, who was observing the situation with dignity from atop his horse. Popper nodded to Joyce without a word.

Silveryn was also on horseback beside Popper, watching over the situation with a calm expression.

Silveryn’s apprentice was nowhere to be seen.

Joyce inwardly sneered.

Was the apprentice too fearful to even confront a ghoul from a distance? What could be more important than ghouls in this situation that would warrant his absence? The lad was more cowardly than Joyce had assumed.

Popper soon issued a command.

“Enter the mansion and hunt down the ghouls!”

The knights immediately flooded into the mansion. Joyce was at the forefront again. They efficiently dispersed, meticulously searching through the rooms on the first and second floors.

A knight shouted.

“There’s a passage to the basement at the end of the corridor!”

Followed by reports from the first and second floors, indicating they found nothing.

Volk, the leader of the infiltration squad, ordered a regroup at the entrance to the basement stairs.

Leaving the closely gathered knights in the narrow first-floor corridor behind, Joyce stepped forward and said,

“I will enter first.”

When Joyce was about to descend into the basement hastily, Volk restrained him.

“You’re getting ahead of yourself.”

Volk gazed intently at the three claw marks on Joyce’s breastplate.

No matter how exceptional Joyce’s skills were, he was still the junior, significantly less experienced than the other knights. Letting his eagerness get the better of him could be dangerous.

He had already narrowly escaped a fatal wound under favorable conditions.

Joyce, sensing Volk’s intention, bowed his head.

“It’s difficult to wield a sword in confined spaces. Avoid engaging in combat in an unfavorable environment.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good.”

Two knights carrying torches hurried into the interior of the mansion. Once visibility was assured, Volk gave the instruction.

“It’s safe to descend now. Remember, safety is the priority. If you feel outnumbered, retreat. Archmage Silveryn is watching our backs so there’s no need to be reckless.”

“Understood.”

Joyce took a torch and led the way down the stairs, with Volk closely accompanying him to provide cover.

At the bottom was a dark liquid pooling like a puddle.

Volk shouted,

“It’s blood. Be careful not to slip, as there’s blood pooled here.”

Joyce studied the accumulated blood carefully. There were no signs of it drying. Joyce furrowed his brows.

The blood had a thin viscosity, as if it had just been spilled, indicating that some incident had just occurred. He was now certain that it was fresh blood from a new victim.

Joyce traced the source of the blood back, looking for where it originated.

Under a partially open iron door at the end of the basement corridor, blood trickled out in a thin stream.

“It’s here.”

Gripping his sword tightly, Joyce carefully approached the iron door and slowly pushed it open.

Something that had been leaning against the door tumbled and brushed against his feet.

The first to greet Joyce was the half-severed corpse of a ghoul.

“…!”

As he shone the torch inside, the whole view of the basement was revealed.

Joyce was momentarily speechless from shock.

The other knights followed suit; they, too, were struck dumb-faced by the sight in the basement.

Words failed them for a moment.

Dozens of ghoul corpses sprawled across the floor, each one contorted as though freshly severed.

And in the center, turning his head towards the knights, stood one person. Drenched in blood from head to toe, he stood there with an exhausted expression.

His face was so covered in blood that it was impossible to identify him.

“You’ve arrived rather early.”

At the sound of his voice, like a bolt of lightning, a particular identity flashed through Joyce’s mind. It was Damian, Silveryn’s apprentice.

With countless ghouls lying at his feet, his sword was already back in its sheath.

That meant the situation had already concluded.

He managed to face all these ghouls alone?

And without a single injury?

Impossible.

The knights facing him must all be having similar thoughts.

The strength drained from Joyce’s hands, and he almost dropped his sword without realizing it.

Damian, observing the knights frozen in time, tilted his head curiously. It was as if he couldn’t understand their dumbstruck expressions.

This monstrous lad showed no sign of comprehending the gravity of his deeds.

At that moment, Joyce finally understood.

Silveryn had no need to canvas the knight’s order for talent.

She had someone with assured talent in her grasp.

Most of the knights had taken the reputation and discernment of an Archmage and Professor of Eternia too lightly.

Joyce closed his eyes.

He must have been trapped in the small well of Weisel, never seeing the vast world beyond.

Damian, oblivious to his surroundings, had branded the ‘gap in talent’ into the minds of the haughty knights.

One of the torch-bearing knights, mouth agape in a daze, suddenly seemed to snap back to reality as if something had occurred to him.

“… I’ll go report the situation!”

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