Chapter 441: This Is Not An Act of Callousness

Vidomina quietly watched Tisdale confidently give everyone in the room their directives. She seemed to take everything into account, doling out commands clearly with a calm demeanor. The professors left one after the other, and soon, only those from the Faculty of Theology remained.

“Cia, please go see Bishop Weslie from the Church. See if you can recruit some people from him who will serve as a backup. I know we don’t mix well with the other, but when it comes to saving innocent lives, we share a common ground. By the way, Professor Hantai…” Tisdale sternly said, “Could you please notstare at my legs so much? If Sir finds out about this, he’s gonna hit you really hard.”

“Cough! E-excuse me, Dale, it’s, uh, out of habit…” The Paladin Walker stammered, flushing red in embarrassment. He scratched the back of his helmet before suddenly bolting from the room. It was as though he had been fleeing from a fight.

Laeticia gave Tisdale a nod and dashed after him.

Only Vidomina and Tisdale were left in the room. After seeing to all the tasks necessary, an exhausted Tisdale sank into the couch and exhaled deeply in relief.

Vidomina walked to the back of the couch and wrapped her arms around Tisdale from behind. She rested her chin lightly on Tisdale’s shoulder and whispered, “Gosh… Big Sister Dale, I almost felt like we were students, not teachers, just like old times… you know? To be honest with you, when Professor Halsey snapped at me earlier, I… I didn’t know what to do. I’m so glad that you… that you assumed control, Big Sister Dale.”

Back when the girls were students at Da Xue, Tisdale had been unanimously considered the leader of their group. She was the first student that Baiyi awarded the platinum pendant. At that time, her peers considered her the cream of the crop, and they all respected and admired her.

In the past, the girl who Baiyi protected the most was definitely Mia. Nota was the most docile girl of the group, as well as the most independent. Attie was the strongest, no doubt, as she had regained the attention and love of her War God. Modred had the best basics, and Vidomina had the strongest background. [1]

The girl who learned the most from Baiyi was Tisdale. She took after Baiyi in many ways, so it was only natural that Baiyi expected the most from her, which was why he trusted her way more than the others. In the sisterhood, the other girls looked up to Tisdale as their big sister.

Although Tisdale enjoyed Vidomina’s words of comfort, she could tell that a shadow hung over Vidomina’s head. She turned around and rubbed her cheeks gently against Vidomina’s, cooing, “Next time, when Sir and I are not around, everyone would look up to you.”

“Do you think it’s possible for someone like me to be as good as you, Big Sister Dale?” Vidomina mumbled, her tone filled with self-doubt.

“You’ll make it!” Tisdale covered Vidomina’s hand with hers and gave a little squeeze. “A lot of things in the academy require your insight and help. Right now, we need to take care of the incoming refugees; hat’s where you’re most needed.”

“I’ll do my best!” Vidomina mustered up her courage and replied firmly.

As the management and staff of Da Xue prepared to face the army of undead that was marching towards Arfin City — by gathering resources, stocking their inventories with weapons, and gathering students — the City Lord of Arfin City got on his coach and left his fort, rushing towards the street Vidomina got Baiyi in the past, which housed the portal leading to Da Xue’s micro realm.

This street had long since been renovated, as it played host to the portal of the most prestigious academy in the world. The street was now crowded with the residents of Arfin City. They were not yet aware of the undead army heading their way, but they were scared when they discovered that another realm, Duat, was merging with Isythre, their realm. A few residents had gone to seek an explanation from the City Lord of Arfin City, but many other residents chose to come to this street, as it was known as the abode for the best and brightest people in the city.

When the people saw their City Lord’s coach galloping towards the street, the dread that they had been feeling could no longer be contained. Fear is contagious; in just a few moments, their fright grew into a full-blown panic. The City Lord’s coach was quickly surrounded on all sounds by people pleading for an explanation. They did not pay any mind to the guards around the coach.

“Please, tell us what’s going on!”

“Why are you going to Da Xue, City Lord? Are you fleeing from something?”

The spot where the City Lord’s coach was parked was surrounded by a crowd of people. The grand building in which Da Xue’s transporter portal was located was also surrounded by a huge crowd of people. The building had a large gate, and the gate was surrounded by a vast number of guards, who stopped the residents from rushing into the building. They were acting on orders they had received from Da Xue.

The moment panic spread across the crowd, it became a mob.

“Why are you blocking us from entering?! Somebody explains this now! ”

“My son! My son’s in there! I want to see him!”

“Do you know who I am? I’m one of the biggest sponsors of your academy! I demand an audience with Grand Principal Hope!”

Riots broke out across the street. The guards present were already manning the gate, and with no one to control the guard, even the gate’s guards would eventually be overwhelmed by the raging mob!

Suddenly, the transporter portal lit up, and Attie — who was clad in a white, partially-translucent satin robe, with only a few pieces of clothes covering her important body parts — walked out of it. This was the most revealing outfit Baiyi would let her wear in public. Nevertheless, her curvaceous figure and her deliciously-tanned skin were on full display, and she paid no mind to the stares of astonishment being directed her way. With a loud voice, she announced, “Everyone of you should go home, and stay there. No harm will befall you because we will protect you.”

Attie took two steps forward and said, “Please leave. Da Xue will soon deploy many of its students and resources; your presence will only block the way.”

This caused an uproar in the street. However, some people were able to discern Attie’s identity through her skin color, and they murmured amongst themselves, saying, “Isn’t that Professor Attie from the Faculty of Knights that everyone’s talking about?”

“How did a beautiful and young lady like her get a job as Da Xue’s professor? Could it be….?”

“Hey, hey, hey! Don’t look down on her! The people that hold positions in prestigious institutions like Da Xue are powerful and deserving of acclaim; they are not sedentary academics! Where do you think this is? It’s Da Xue!”

Although Attie’s attire did not resemble a battle armor, despite her age, she was still able to garner the faith of the crowd with a few sentences. They believed in Da Xue, so they believed in her.

“Well, if Da Xue is personally seeing to this, then I guess it’s as good as solved, right? Grand Principal Hope has saved the world multiple times already, so if he’s around, there’s nothing for us to fear.”

“We really should leave, then. We’ll just block their way if we remain here.”

“What’s going on, though?! If students and resources are also being deployed, that can only mean that something terrible has happened!”

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When Attie heard the mumbling, she cleared her throat and announced, “There’s a legion of hostile enemies on its way to attack Arfin City. We’re going to destroy them.”

The crowd was upset by this revelation. Were large scale wars not supposed to be behind them at this point? Who would want to attack them now? Northerners? Demons?

Slightly farther away from where Attie was standing, a loud voice pierced the air. “Everyone, settle down! ”

The crowd turned around and saw that it had come from the Mayor, whose coach was still surrounded by concerned residents. As his coach could not move any furthermore, the pot-bellied man had to climb onto its roof, just so he could be heard.

He gave a speech, telling the crowd that a group of enemies wished to invade the city. However, he did not reveal to the crowd that the would-be invaders were undead, neither did he state how many they were. He did, however, assure the crowd that his administration and Da Xue were working together to defend their beloved city.

“Now, I don’t think anyone here questions the strength of Grand Principal Hope, right? With him on our side, the invaders would be unable to lay even a finger on you, so please, go home; when the battle to defend you all breaks out, we don’t wish for any of you to get hurt,” the Mayor said.

When the crowd heard this, they reigned in their fear and let the Da Xue’s guards lead them out of the street, back to their respective homes.

The Mayor watched the crowd recede and quickly jumped down from his coach. He hurried over to Attie, whose slender waist and supple breasts he ogled at for a moment. “Professor Attie, might I ask where is Grand Principal Hope? The situation we’re dealing with is really dangerous, you know, so it’ll really help if he could see to it himself.”

It was quite obvious, from his words, that the man did not think highly of Attie’s skills.

However, Attie indifferently replied, “Master has gone to another realm. He’s not around.”

“W-what?! What the hell? ” The Mayor’s face instantly turned white. “T-then… Then surely His Majesty the Sage Emperor of the Magi could offer his expertise, y-yes?”

The First Voidwalker’s true identity had a subject of many rumors, but as there had been nothing concrete to go on, everyone was left to believe whatever they wanted. As the person leading Arfin City, the Mayor had had numerous dealings with Da Xue, which made him privy to information not known to the general populace. He knew about Baiyi’s relationship with the First Voidwalker — and he secretly referred to the duo as ‘Calamity Personified’. If Hope was unavailable, their safety would still be guaranteed if the Emperor of the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire made an appearance.

“Gramps? His armor suddenly crashed to the floor,” Attie replied.

” C-r-ashed?! ” The Mayor’s face became unsightly. ‘ What are you Voidwalkers made out of? Toy bricks?! How does one even “crash” so suddenly’?

“Then, what are we going to do now?!” The Mayor exclaimed frantically. “There’s only about an hour left before the first wave of undead knocks on our front gate!”

Attie frowned at this. “Do you sincerely believe that Da Xue has only Master and Gramps, right?”

She glanced behind momentarily and turned back, and with a trace of impatience, she said, “Move, would you?”

The transporter portal behind her emitted a series of bright flashes and towering metallic, magical marionettes marched out from the portal in orderly rows. When the last marionette had walked out of the portal, the oval heads of the marionettes turned around at the same time, revealing a brightly-glowing red-eye in the middle of each of their faces.

The magical marionettes had been activated. Their large legs moved as they began marching forward without breaking their formation, crushing the walls in their way without care. Soon, they had marched out of the building.

The Mayor’s eyes widened when he saw the seven-foot-tall magical marionettes. His gaze shifted from their jet-black casing to the prongs sticking out of their hands, elbows, and arms. Their grotesque appearance left him shocked. His throat was dry from fright.

A marionette turned and began to size him up with its round eye, and the Mayor almost jumped in terror.

“Y-you mean to say… D-Da Xue has had such forces hidden behind the academy’s wall?” The Mayor exclaimed in terror. He was so shocked by the magical marionettes that his chosen words belied his true opinion of the academy.

Attie shot him a mirthless smile and replied, “Please. These are old models; our Engineering Faculty created them three years ago for the Imperial Engineering Tournament. Your master, the Emperor, knew about it ages ago… I’m surprised he did not think you worthy to know of it! I guess your performance must not have pleased him well.”

The Mayor’s face turned red, and he opened his mouth but closed it back. He seemed ready to argue, but eventually, he decided to swallow his words and change the subject. “So what am I supposed to do now?”

“Go back to where you’re supposed to be, and do what you’re supposed to do,” Attie replied and walked away, leaving the Mayor speechless.

The real reason why he had hurried all the way to Baiyi’s street upon learning of the approaching undead army, instead of communicating with them via communication slab, was to seek asylum in Da Xue. Attie’s words rid him of that desire, though.

He was not just the mayor of Arfin City, but he was also the Emperor’s loyal lapdog. In public, the Mayor called himself as Da Xue’s most reliable partner, but in truth, he was a spy, gathering intelligence on the activities of Da Xue and the Voidwalkers. This was not a secret to the upper management at Da Xue, and now Attie had called him out on the bad job he had done as an informant. This was her way of telling him that he should not have dreamed that Da Xue would grant someone like him a sanctuary.

Other than the Mayor, there were some other people who knew of the undead army approaching Arfin City. When the public had retreated to their homes, many nobles rushed towards Baiyi’s street, hoping to be granted asylum at Da Xue.

However, they were swiftly blocked out of the way by the three-years-old magical marionettes—apparently, these marionettes were not dispatched to fight the undead by the gate, but to sealed off the street leading toe Da Xue’s gate.

The nobles quickly introduced themselves, yelling out illustrious names to threaten the marionettes into letting them in. However, the cold machines only glared at the nobles, causing them to shut their mouths. Some of them turned away quietly, but others remained there, fuming and throwing insults at Baiyi and Da Xue.

It was a decision made by Tisdale. They would protect the city, and at the same time, they would protect Da Xue, too; The grand project Baiyi had built mattered just as much as the lives of the people of the Arfin city. If they allowed the people to rush into their academy, the mob might deal more damage to the academy than the undead would.

“Honestly, compared to any calamity, hysteric people were a catastrophe.” This was what Baiyi had once told Tisdale. She remembered it well enough.

This was why Da Xue would never be open to outsides, except the situation was really dire.

It was not an act of callousness. Tisdale had promised to make people consider it unnecessary to seek asylum at Da Xue.