Unbelievable.
There was only shock.
So...
One person, one sword...
Really could be powerful enough to reach such heights.
He was...
A monster!!!
"He's even more impressive than I imagined, this kid."
At some point, Teacher Tsukimi, who had stayed out of everything, had actually put down the romance novel in his hands.
His head tilted slightly, he watched Qiji holding the rear alone in the distance, admiration in his eyes.
Hearing him, Setsuna finally found an outlet for the dissatisfaction and anger she had suppressed for so long.
She immediately snapped back with biting sarcasm:
"Heh, as a teacher, when danger strikes, someone not only refuses to protect his students, but actually hides behind them. How truly shameless."
Rather than getting angry at Setsuna's sarcasm, Yuejian wore a smug smile, as though pleased to see a promising student.
He leisurely crossed his legs and swung his foot.
"Shameless? Setsuna, you just don't understand.
Shamelessness is an excellent quality.
Since you call me teacher, I suppose I'll give you a free lesson in the philosophy of life."
Yuejian glanced around at the students. Their expressions varied, though most were glaring at him. He spoke unhurriedly:
"Take that masked kid over there.
Holding the rear alone, stopping the beast tide and protecting his companions-it sounds cool and impressive, doesn't it?
But-
People like him, who habitually shoulder responsibility, other people's expectations, and whatever they call 'the right thing'...
Are often the first to die.
Rather than dying young in a blaze of glory, surrounded by crowds, gratitude and expectations..."
Yuejian paused and spread his hands, a brazen, almost roguish smile on his face.
"What's so bad about choosing to be a 'shameless' person and living a long, ordinary life?"
"Qiji... won't die!"
Liuli, who had been rather quiet since earlier, suddenly spoke up.
The model-student smile she always wore was absent from her face.
Unable to bear Yuejian's words, which sounded like a curse, she couldn't hold back.
Huomu also spoke up at once, clenching his fists as he retorted:
"Teacher Tsukimi, you're wrong!
Qiji...
Is an absolute powerhouse! A genius who can't lose!
So he'll definitely win!"
"Heh." Yuejian sneered, withdrew his gaze from the distance and returned it to his novel, as though their conversation had merely been a diversion from boredom.
He casually turned a page, his tone suddenly growing cold:
"That's right, that's right. That's exactly how you should think.
Doesn't thinking that way make you feel much better?
Because there's an absolute powerhouse standing in front, because there's a genius who can't lose shouldering everything...
You can dump all the danger, all the responsibility and all the pressure onto his shoulders, then run away without looking back and feel perfectly fine about it, right?
You call me shameless?
As my students, you've learned my shamelessness pretty quickly and pretty well, haven't you?"
"..."
Huomu's cheeks flushed red at his words, not from shame, but from anger at being misrepresented and insulted:
"Teacher Tsukimi, I don't agree!
We're not shirking our responsibility.
We're following Qiji's orders!
Here and now, Qiji is the strongest. He also has the best judgment and the sharpest mind!
So our responsibility is to trust him unconditionally! To do everything he says!
If he tells me to run, I'll run. But if he says he needs me to stay and fight at his side, I won't hesitate for even a second!"
At this, perhaps realizing the enormous gulf in strength between himself and Qiji, Huomu gave a self-deprecating smile.
"Of course, as I am now, I probably haven't earned the right to say that, have I?
But one day, I'll become strong enough!
Strong enough that even Qiji, the strongest of us, will need me.
When that time comes, I'll shoulder my own responsibilities and fight alongside Qiji!"
With that, Huomu raised his head and looked Yuejian straight in the eye:
"So the only one who's been shirking his responsibility from beginning to end is you, teacher."
Chapter 31: The Luck That Reverses Life and Death
After hearing Huomu's speech, the comments in the main livestream began scrolling furiously:
"Holy shit! Is this the talk-no-jutsu every anime protagonist needs?"
"Hajimu, just for that speech, I acknowledge you!"
"Well said, Hajimu! Hurry up and get stronger! Don't let Prisoner Ji fight alone every single time!"
"Holy shit! So a growth-type protagonist really does grow?!"
Yuejian listened quietly to the end, fell silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled.
"You certainly know how to talk. Sounds pretty convincing."
His tone was flat, giving no hint of praise or criticism.
"Well, that's perfect-
There's a chance right now. Show me.
Show me whether you have the resolve to match those words."
The instant Yuejian finished speaking-
"Screee!!!"
"Hissss!"
A piercing shriek and the sound of furiously beating wings rang out without warning!
Everyone felt the light around them suddenly dim, as though an invisible curtain had fallen over their heads!
A foul gust carrying the smell of stench and wing scales swept down from above, making their scalps tingle!
Alarm bells rang in everyone's minds, and they snapped their heads up!
At some point, a dense, dark cloud had filled the night sky, blotting everything out!
No!
That wasn't a cloud at all!
It was countless creatures the size of basketballs, gray-black all over, with fearsome mouthparts and transparent wings-
Flying-Winged Poison Flies!
Flying-Winged Poison Flies were social flying Void Beasts commonly found in D-rank and E-rank rifts.
Each one was only first-tier, but they made up for it with their terrifying numbers and collective movement.
They were fearless in the face of death, and their mouthparts carried a neurotoxin, making them extremely troublesome!
This swarm of Flying-Winged Poison Flies had evidently also been drawn and driven here by the Red-Hot Incense.
Qiji could hold back every Void Beast charging across the ground with just himself and his sword.
But against these flying creatures that could circle around high in the air and ignore obstacles on the ground...
Even someone as strong as Qiji couldn't reach them.
Now, as though the poison flies circling overhead had finally locked onto the scent of their prey, the entire swarm descended in an instant!
"It's a swarm of flies!"
Setsuna's expression changed dramatically. She reacted the fastest.
"Lili, protect the children and the caravan! Everyone else, raise your guns! Aim for the junction between their thoraxes and abdomens-that's their weak point-"
But before she could finish-
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-!!!"
They poured down like a black rainstorm.
Driven into a frenzy by the Red-Hot Incense, the Flying-Winged Poison Flies had become far faster and fiercer.
Before the students could fully organize their formation, the flies swooped down from every angle in suicidal attacks.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Sporadic gunfire immediately rang out!
A few quick-reacting students were the first to open fire.
The specialized armor-piercing rounds easily penetrated the flies' relatively fragile bodies, blasting them into several disgusting splashes of fluid in midair.
But... it was a drop in the bucket!
More flies surged forward, one wave after another. Even when bullets struck them and shattered their bodies, as long as they could still move, they lunged fiercely at the group with the last of their momentum.
It was as though death meant nothing to them, and their sole mission in life was to stab their mouthparts into their prey and inject fly venom.
"Ah-!"
A girl screamed as a fly that had slipped through grazed her arm.
A charred-black mark appeared instantly, and numbness spread rapidly through her body.
"Huomu, watch your head!" Bai Lili cried out in warning at the same time.
She shielded the children behind her with one hand and sent several Heart Essence threads whipping out with the other, barely managing to bind two poison flies lunging at the back of Huomu's neck.
But more poison flies were already closing in from every direction, like piranhas that had scented blood!
Huomu tried to dodge, but the ropes for pulling the cart were still looped over his shoulders, restricting his movement at once.
Just as the sharp mouthparts of several poison flies were about to pierce his unguarded neck-
Yuejian, who had been lying quietly on the cart reading his novel, moved his eyelids almost imperceptibly.
His gray eyes, always half-lidded as though he couldn't muster interest in anything, seemed to flicker ever so faintly in the moonlight.