Chapter 247: Losing Sanity

Chapter 247

Losing Sanity

Boom. Boom!!

Fwoosh, fwoosh.

“Damn it!! Why does my body feel so heavy?!!”

“Aargh!! These bastards set up pitfall traps too! Be careful, there aren’t just stratagems here!!”

“Damn it!! We’re going to kill every last one of them. Just wait until we get through this sticky trap; I’ll kill them all!!”

The air was filled with curses and shouts. Over 100 soldiers had already fallen into the traps Ellie had set to welcome them. Earlier, she had bought a number of traps meant for beasts to use around her home, but since the Setter family was faster and had provided better ones, she stored hers in her dimensional ring and used the free higher-quality ones instead.

Who would have thought she’d get to use them now!

“Amazing. These traps are taking out soldiers in droves, more effective than elite warriors! No wonder stratagems are so expensive. It’s because they can be used like this!”

The students cheered happily. The poison user, who had ordered the soldiers to charge straight into the camp to open the path, had a grim look on his face. The first soldier stepped into the first trap. The second one did the same. By the 10th, by the 20th, why couldn’t they get past it?

These traps should have been used up after one activation, so why?!

What they didn’t know was that Ellie hadn’t wasted any time sleeping. To create a “rotating disk” around the stratagem, she had instructed her spores to work hard, breaking down the soil and using her botanic power to create a grass clump under the dirt disk.

By making the soil and root network dense enough, it wouldn’t collapse. Once an enemy fell into the first trap, they could rotate the traps on the surface to cover the same spot again.

It was no wonder the soldiers from Rhea Kingdom, who marched in a straight line, didn’t realize that their bodies were slowly moved to the side after falling into the traps!

Well...since she’d set stratagems around the camp, it would be a shame if the enemy didn’t come from behind. So, Ellie thought of using her limited resources most efficiently...it wasn’t hard at all.

If others knew about her ideas, they would worship her as a goddess!!

Unfortunately, this talent would remain a secret once again...by her intention and the Setter family’s desire not to make their future lady too conspicuous and become noticed...

Despite the fact that the 100, nearly 200, soldiers had fallen prey, it didn’t take long for them to realize the truth. The poison user, observing from a distance, had a broader view and quickly issued new orders. The soldiers used their comrades as stepping stones, successfully jumping over the traps.

It was a crude method, but to avoid more sacrifices, the soldiers on the ground painfully complied. They were now close, only a few dozen meters away from reaching the camp.

“Just one more step to the final barrier, so after this, I’ll have to disturb you all,” Ellie said seriously, even summoning her trusty “Spirit Rake” to prepare for the upcoming battle.

Aman laughed like a vicious demon. He had been ready to fight for a long time. The nearly 30 students who had set up the stratagems had proven themselves not weak at all, managing to eliminate 20% of the enemies even though they were still students and the stratagems used were only of level 1. In the future...they would certainly be able to use this real combat experience to their advantage.

It had to be said that until now, these stratagem creators had never participated in real combat. Thus, they had only followed orders to create stratagems without much thought about their actual use. Aman believed that after this, the students would change how they create their stratagems, becoming much stronger stratagem creators.

“Hah! I’ve been ready for a long time.”

Aman picked up his weapon. Koross did the same. For a real fight like this, he felt no pressure at all. Considering that nearly 200 soldiers had been taken down by stratagems, they couldn’t be very smart. Even the beasts they had faced before were at least stronger than these stratagems!

Prince Jason was not worried about the two young men from the Setter family. He looked at the other students, whose hands were still shaking with fear, and couldn’t help but worry.

After regrouping with another 30 students, their fighting power had increased significantly. They were all magic users, and if they attacked sensibly, they would surely do well. His only concern was that they might panic too much.

“Everyone, don’t be afraid! We’ll keep fighting until they’re all gone!” Ellie felt like she couldn’t laugh or cry at Jason’s attempt to boost morale.

What kind of motivation was that? He should be put with Professor Medik, as both of them loved to say things that destroyed others’ morale.

Telling the students that was like saying, “Alright, all 30 of us are going to fight the remaining 800 soldiers, who also have poison users.”

“Everyone, follow the orders. Starting with the stratagem branch students, move to the back and take out long-range weapons. You don’t need to aim too precisely; just throw them to create obstacles for the enemy. And...if you’re not good with a bow, don’t use it. If you miss, you might hurt your own comrades. Use stones, dirt, or anything else to throw and hinder their movement.”

“Next, students capable of using combat magic, come to the front. Arrange yourselves with magicians who can attack freely, please stay behind those with defensive powers. If possible, don’t let your friends take too many hits. Students with defensive magic, split into 2 lines and alternate taking the brunt of the attacks. If anyone feels overwhelmed, step back to drink a potion.”

“Students skilled with spears or heavy weapons, observe the fight and coordinate with each other. Ideally, group with friends you’ve fought alongside before since you know each other’s abilities well. And please communicate during the fight to avoid friendly fire injuries.”

This was a common issue for students who were novice hunters, where they often got injured by their own companions rather than the enemy.

“Next, long-range attack students, stay at the very back and aim to hit the enemies as much as possible. Use long-range attack spells if you can. Please cast them as far as you can. There are over 800 of them, so they will only charge in from one direction.”

Their method of fighting was to use the bodies of their fallen comrades as stepping stones to avoid falling into traps again. Therefore, the paths they could take were limited. Meanwhile, Ellie would also move traps out of the line of fire to prevent them from being destroyed uselessly and to keep them as barriers to stop the enemy from attacking from all directions.

"And lastly, the support group...I need you all to do your jobs to the fullest. Stay in the back and be cautious. Any injured students should go to the healers. Those who can enhance others should watch for opportunities to help appropriately. Prince Jason has brought a number of restorative potions, and I trust he’ll willingly share them."

Hearing this, Prince Jason couldn’t help but laugh. This girl truly belonged to the Setter family. It was true he had brought a considerable number of restorative potions. Initially, he had intended to use them during training. When this situation arose...he had already planned to share them with everyone. But...didn’t Young Lord Setter also bring a lot of potions? Yet, she didn’t mention him at all.

It was clear she wouldn’t let her own Setter family suffer any disadvantage.

"Of course, I will entrust the potions to you all,"

Prince Jason said to the students who had created the stratagems. The potions he had brought along numbered in the dozens, all restorative ones. He hadn’t thought he would need any other types. Only restorative potions were useful for training. Even if he didn’t use them himself, using them on these students was like protecting himself.

"Alright, then get ready." Seeing Ellie’s determination, the prince said nothing more. It was only right for him to take responsibility for putting everyone in danger.

However, his eyes kept straying to the girl. He was curious about her combat skills. This fight wasn’t like dealing with beasts. Normally, women, no! Even men were not brave enough to kill a person. Maybe he would see Ellie at a weaker moment.

But the prince was in for a disappointment. As soon as the first enemy entered the camp, his head was severed by Ellie’s Empress’s Thread. The swift and sudden attack left many students stunned.

They knew Duchess Ellie as the lover of Eldest Young Lord Owen. But before that, they knew her as a scholarship student from a rural area without good support. Later, they knew her as Ellie, the sole disciple of the weak botanic element. As she improved her potion-concocting skills, their view of her also improved. Even though she was a seemingly worthless botanic elemental student, she was still good at potion concocting.

Finally, they had not expected Ellie to possess such decisive combat skills. The man in front of them was an experienced soldier, a human, and he moved unpredictably. Yet, Ellie took him down in the blink of an eye. Was this the person they had always underestimated?!!

"You...don’t feel anything?" He could recall how, the first time he killed someone, even though they were masked assassins, he had vomited until he passed out.

That was a human! A person like us! Killing them was not like slicing tofu!!

"What would you like me to feel?" She responded, not just with words but by swiftly moving her fingers forward. The neck of the next soldier was severed as well.

Ellie’s decisive strikes left everyone stunned. They had previously pretended to fear Second Young Lord Aman and didn’t respect this duchess, but now, seeing her true combat skills, it seemed they had misunderstood. The scariest person in this camp might not be Second Young Lord Aman but rather this chosen duchess!!

“..............” Prince Jason’s face twisted slightly. Although he wanted to say something, he couldn’t, lest he reveal his own embarrassing past.

This girl was far stronger than him, killing enemies without flinching. Moreover, her skills were not weak. Because of this, he turned his attention to the increasing number of soldiers, deciding it was time for him to show the ruthlessness of a man!!

Swoosh!

Before he could act, a thin thread cut in front of him again. The prince gripped his sword tightly, determined not to let the next target be taken by her. With a single leap, he positioned himself in front, intending to use his sword to take down hundreds of enemies.

Ellie’s eyebrow twitched. While the prince tried to demonstrate his prowess in front of her, Ellie thought: what else could she call the one who should protect himself well but recklessly charge forward, if not insanity!?

"Is that prince out of his mind?"

Aman cursed in frustration, echoing Ellie’s thoughts. After expressing his annoyance, Aman quickly leaped forward. Regardless, he couldn’t let the prince get taken down first. If necessary...he might have to tie the prince up and hide him in a tent.